


Tease

by Soyna



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, Humor, M/M, Multi, Romance, Teasing, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-29
Updated: 2011-08-01
Packaged: 2017-10-12 07:39:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 61
Words: 250,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/122520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soyna/pseuds/Soyna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all starts with a drinking contest between Reno and Cloud. Zack has to take care of a drunk Cloud. Yaoi warning...Tease warning...ZxC...a little bit of Reno taunting/torture, a little Rufus and a tad of Sephiroth...the whole story is a tease.  Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Train Ride

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now. Let me tell you, I had a strange dream so this can get strange …but I know you will like it.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement.

* * *

 **Train Ride**

* * *

Zack chewed his lip almost painfully.

He was extremely uncomfortable and he was scared to move. Oh, there was an easy way out of this problem, but he was not sure if he wanted to solve it.

The train screeched at it hit a curve and jostled him slightly.

He gasped and could feel the sweat beading down the back of his neck.

~ _Damn it_. ~

He hoped that was the last curve because if they hit one more bump like that, he was going to loose it! How could he have allowed himself to get into this situation! He knew that he could stop it, but he wasn't sure if he really wanted to now that he was in it.

The train car that they were riding in was empty.

Well, not completely empty. Zack and Cloud sat next to each other coming back from a night out in the slums and they were the only ones on the train at this still early hour of the night.

Zack was very aware of how close that the drunken Cloud was sitting, no, leaning, beside him.

Very aware!

They had gone down to go relax and unwind and the night was looking good that way. Hell, even Reno and Rude and joined them down at the bar. Of course, Reno being there had most likely been the downfall of the whole evening.

As usual.

He had walked away from the table to go talk with Kunsel who was sitting at the bar with some other SOLDIERS. Of course, it was more than a few minutes and he had left Cloud alone with Reno. He was not aware of how much the two lightweights were drinking until he returned to table and both were sickeningly intoxicated. The table was little with bottles of vodka cooler and alcoholic lemonades. They had been both giggling like silly school girls when he returned. He couldn't get a word out of the two but a snort and a chuckle for a good ten minutes.

The night was pretty much over when Reno was the first to have his head rest against the table. Cloud raised his hand in a victory pose and promptly joined the red head.

And it was only ten!

Rude had not said a word, grabbed the small red head and lugged him out of the bar. He had tried to wake Cloud but all he got was a grunt and a moan, even though he still had a smile on Cloud's lips and he put one of his arms around his shoulder to take him out of the bar.

Cloud had woken up slightly in the walk to the train and the cool air. All he would do was giggle and mumble words that were really more like sounds. The only thing that the could make out was, "I beat Reno." And "I am going to win." At least that is what it sounded like. He had asked the drunk how he was going to win, when he already beat Reno and had sent the blond into a fit of laughter with that comment. He didn't know what was so funny about what he said, but then, he didn't drink as much as he did.

He was grateful that Cloud wasn't puking his guts out and the train's movements seemed to lull him into a comfortable sleep as soon as the train started to move. He was worried that his little girly-drink-drunk was going to get sick with the movement, but Cloud seemed quite content where was sitting.

And that was why he was so uncomfortable.

He didn't mind Cloud leaning on him and that was quite cozy having the warm body next to him, it was where Cloud had his right hand.

He let go of his lip with his teeth and allowed a heavy sigh to leave his lips as he leaned his head back. He ran his one free hand through his hair and whispered, "Gaia." He didn't even want to look at the hand that sitting on his thigh.

Not near his knee.

Not in the middle of his thigh.

No it was near his crotch, just a few little centimetres away from where his body was reacting inappropriately. And his hand wasn't just resting on the top of his thigh. He could have probably have handled that. That would mean that he could have just moved it off with the bounce of his knee, but that was not where the hand was.

It was firmly placed in between his legs and every bump in the train cause his whole body want to either tear his hand away, or encourage Cloud to do more. He admitted to himself at the beginning of the train ride that he most likely would have taken advantage of him, if he wasn't passed out.

 _~ Damn it. ~_

The train braked. The hand squeezed his thigh and pressed against his already painfully taunt crotch. He groaned and turned toward Cloud and took a deep breath of Cloud's hair.

He smelled like the bar. There was the smell of the annoying cigarettes that Reno smoked on him as well as the sickly sweet alcoholic drinks that he had been drinking that night. But then there was the smell of Cloud. He smelled like the Cloud that had comforted him after the tragic events in that ice covered mountain. A comforting and soft smell that he could only describe as cozy. Yeah. He knew that wasn't a smell, but that is what he thought of it.

He remembered how Cloud had sat so close to him and clutched at his hand, despite his own injuries, to ensure that he was okay. It wasn't quite as intimate as his current situation but it reminded him of that time. No one else in that truck noticed how Cloud pressed against him to make sure that he was okay.

At least he hoped that no one did.

He was grateful for his presence that day. It kept him quite sober and calm and he didn't break down until later because of Cloud. Cloud had helped him so much with out any judgement or questions. He was just there.

They were fast friends after that trip and he knew that he tended to drag Cloud around quite a bit, but he enjoyed it. Cloud could be nervous but usually loosened up for whatever activity they were doing.

He had pleaded with Cloud to join him tonight to go drinking and as much as Cloud didn't want to go out, he gave in. As he always did.

He was enjoying his evening and didn't really mind that his friend had a drinking match with Reno. It was quite humorous that the little blond had out drank Reno, if only by a minute. But the situation that he was now in was turning extremely painful for him. He knew that he could move the hand and that would have stopped the tempting rubbing from that sword calloused and glove-less hand that was pressing on the inner most part of his upper thigh.

~ Damn it, it felt good too. ~

Zack was grateful that the train was empty because his groan would have been heard by anyone in the car and most likely got him some strange looks.

~Would I stop it, if someone was in the train? ~

He wondered the answer to the questions he asked himself and before he could really string together his thoughts, he thought he felt the fingers that were already torturing him move.

Did they move? He looked for signs that his friend was waking up, but he didn't feel a shift in the body that was leaning so heavily on him. The fingers were still now, but he was pretty sure that the fingers moved. Of course, it could have been just the sway of the train or the fact that he was twitching in his alcohol induced sleep.

He knew that he could move that hand that was so close to him and yet still so far. The reason he couldn't move that hand was because he didn't trust himself to. He _wanted_ that had to move close. He _wanted_ to have Cloud move closer to him. He _wanted_ to squeeze him and… and…

The fingers DID move. There was a soft moan that escaped the blonde's throat. Damn those fingers were pressing and massaging, his inner thigh. The blonde's head moved and his hair brushed against his throat. Zack couldn't help but involuntary shiver at the feeling as he was trying desperately to control himself.

"Cloud?" he whispered and rubbed the back of the infantry man to try to get him to wake up a bit more before he realized what he was doing. That could solve all his problems, if Cloud would wake up and realize what he was doing.

"Humm," was all he got and he just about jumped out of skin as the hand moved and was now pressed tight against his crotch and pressed against his thigh and the fingers moved in a steady motion. He found himself paying particularly close attention to the motion of the hand massaging his thigh.

 _~ Pinky, ring, middle, index and the thumb rubbing awfully close to his crotch and then back to the pinky, ring, middle, index and the rolling thumb. ~_

"Wha…ya… st….lllleee," Cloud said. Again with words and sound that really didn't have any meaning to him.

"Cloud?" Zack pleaded with him. He was going to have to move that hand of his if he kept that up he was going to loose it completely. The alcohol was affecting him as well and he was way too excited now, especially when that thumb twirling against his hip.

"Llleee…tat?" Cloud mumbled and Zack found that Cloud other hand was no longer trapped between them, but was now snaking around his back, allowing his body to move closer to him as Cloud gripped him in a tight hug and that other hand was not letting up on its movements.

~ _Pinky, ring, middle, index and the twirling thumb_ ~

…and the pressure was increasing. He gasped at the increasing sensations that Cloud was creating. He knew that he shouldn't be turned on by this, but then… how could he not be?

"Cloud!" he said sharply. He reached his arm over to the blond shoulder and gave him a shake. That unfortunately moved his hand so that his thumb grazed the rise in his pants while Cloud was performing that circle with his thumb.

Cloud made a noise that was suspiciously like a chuckle. Then the hand stopped its maddening motion (but remained in place) and then Cloud was still and a small snore escaped his lips.

Zack had to take a couple of shallow breaths and swallow hard. "Tease," he whispered as the train announcer announced their arrival at the station.


	2. Train Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now. Let me tell you, I had a strange dream so this can get strange…but I know you will like it.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement.

* * *

 **Train Station**

* * *

He looked down at the giggling Cloud as he lay on the ground. "Damn it, what am I going to do with you?" Zack whispered. He had managed to get Cloud off the train with little trouble, after all the Cloud was not that heavy of a man, but as soon as they starting to walk a few steps, he started to giggle and sway.

Cloud was giggling so hard that he was crying and gasping for air. Zack just hoped that he was going to puke.

Cloud reached up a shaky hand to him. "elp….up," he managed to say. So, he wanted help up. He was going to make Reno pay for this evening. He was still trying to compose himself from the train ride and seeing the giggling and wiggling Cloud on the ground sure as hell wasn't helping.

"Zaaaaa," Cloud mumbled and waved his hand at him and trying and unsuccessfully try to sit up but only ended up back on the ground, whining. "Cannnn't."

"I can see that. Whatever possessed you to get in a drinking contest with Reno?" he asked the blond.

Cloud started to giggle again, his hand covering his watering his eyes. He was pretty sure that he wasn't going to be walking any time soon. He hoped that the red-headed trouble maker was going to have a hell of a hangover.

He was going to kill Reno. Yep, in his sleep too!

"You are a defiantly a happy drunk," Zack chuckled as he shook his head at the blond.

"Appy," Cloud agreed as he leaned his head back onto the ground and turned his head to look at him with hooded eyes.

Zack crouched down beside him and grabbed an arm to haul him up. "Come on. Let's go get you cleaned up and some coffee."

He must have moved Cloud to fast. He made a small sound that scared him a little bit as he swayed on his feet. "Ooooh," Cloud moaned. "Too …faaass." He didn't want to deal with him puking but from the amount of bottles on the table, it most likely was inevitable.

He held the swaying man. Cloud pressed his hands against his chest and looked up at him with this watery blue eyes and a crooked smile. Zack swallowed, very aware of how close they were standing and how warm his hands were pressing against his shirt. He had Clouds upper arms holding him firmly place.

"You are so drunk," was all that he could manage to say. Of course, that was not what he was thinking.

 _~ You are so damn tempting ~_

"Uh-huh?" Cloud said and his smile grew wider and Clouds hand moved in a slow move to his sides.

Zack thought he was going to explode. The way that those hands moved was making him twitch and burn. Cloud smiled at him as he swayed a bit and he had to hold him in place. He gripped the arms tighter and found that he was pulling the drunken Cloud closer to him.

~ _You shouldn't be having these thoughts about your best friend ~_

He was just starting to cool down and now the touch was getting him all anxious and tense again.

 _~ You can't take advantage of him like this, even though he is licking… oh ~_

He had to look away as Cloud licked his lips. It wasn't just a wetting of his lips; it was a motion that made him shiver as just the tip of his tongue rolled over his upper lip and the smirk returned. Cloud must have felt him shiver and he chuckled.

"Damn it, Cloud," he muttered in a breathless whimper. That was almost becoming his mantra tonight.

He so wanted to kiss him. He had never wanted to do that more in his life. He wanted to kiss him and pull him close to him, but he wasn't going to take advantage of his friend while he was like this, as much as it seemed that Cloud wanted it also. He could _feel_ how excited Cloud was and it wasn't helping him keep him calm. Cloud was drunk and would most likely hate him in the morning if he did something like that and then hate Reno too, for getting him drunk.

Cloud blinked his bright blue eyes at him and then the blinks seemed to become the frantic control to keep them open. Zack sighed as he had to hold up Cloud as his knees gave way and he passed out again.

"Damn it," he grumbled. He had to get him home but he wasn't going to take Cloud to his room in the barracks. Going to the barracks this early in the night drunk was a bad idea. Zack did not want Cloud to end up with a shaved head and make up all over the place and most likely naked in the cafeteria. There seemed to be one of those every weekend. He remembered those times and was grateful that he had never been the first one to pass out. Hell, he was the one that usually place the naked drunk in the cafeteria or quad or, once (and he couldn't believe he didn't get caught) Hojo's labs. He didn't want Cloud to be one of those.

He knelt so he could place his shoulder at Clouds belly and then lifted. He slung his sleeping drunken friend over his shoulder, wrapping his arm securely around his legs to keep him secured. Thankfully he wasn't laughing any more, if he was, he most likely would have wiggled himself off and fallen to the ground again.

Cloud made a small sound as he put him in that position.

He heard a giggle and this time it wasn't from Cloud. He saw two women looking at him and Cloud. It looked like they were just going out of the evening and getting onto the train that he just departed from.

He did feel like quite a fool with his friend slung over his shoulder like a burlap sack. A drunken burlap sack.

He would defiantly have to strangle Reno when he saw him next. He hoped at least the imp was suffering from alcohol poisoning and had to get his stomach pumped. He smirked as he realized that he was wishing worse things on the Turk. He was pretty sure by the end of the evening he will be wishing he could draw-and-quarter him and feed his pieces to a dragon.

The two girls got onto the train and he had to have a plan of action and the other thing that he could do was take him to his place.

Part of his mind was jumping for joy and another part was groaning. Cloud in his place. So, it wasn't the first time that he thought of it. He couldn't deny that of himself, but he never really thought he would be brining home a drunk Cloud.

 _~Liar~_

Okay, so he had thought about it, but he thought it would be a lot more enjoyable than having him draped over his shoulder and getting laughed at by some women who were going out on the town for the evening.

"Damn it," he muttered again.

He started walking towards his apartment, with a heavy sigh and a wiggling weight on his shoulders. The quicker he could get the weight off his shoulders the better. The quicker he got out of public.

"Urgh," Cloud made a sound and then giggled. He was conscious again.

Zack shook his head and kept walking. He tightened his grip on the giggling boy. He doubted that he had ever seen such a giggly drunk before. He stopped sharply as hands pressed against his backside, followed by a sharp slap, with increased giggling.

"Damn it Cloud," he said and gave Clouds ass a slap as well. "Behave will ya."

Cloud giggled some more and made some more incoherent sounds that could have been words. Cloud didn't listen though. He felt another slap and then a hand squeeze into his back pocket before Cloud's giggling stopped again.

"Damn it!" Zack groaned, realizing that his hand was still on Clouds bottom and moved it back to around the back of his knees.

He was pretty sure that this night was going to kill him.

* * *

 _Thanks to all that review my first chapter._

 _Enjoyed it. Review it. A simple remark. It will be appreciated…_


	3. Apartment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now. Let me tell you, I had a strange dream so this can get strange…but I know you will like it.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **Apartment**

The rest of the walk to his apartment was uneventful, other than the fact that Cloud's hand was firmly imbedded in his back pocket! He cursed Reno and Cloud for their little drinking contest, even though he was a little bit proud that Cloud out drank Reno. He didn't think that was possible, but the hand his back pocket was… was…

 _~ tantalizing~_

…irritating.

Damn his inner voice.

He carried his drunken friend into the his little apartment.

Now what was he going to do?

He only had a chair and a loveseat in his living room and he could drop him on the floor, but, even if he was an extremely happy drunk, he doubted that he would be so when he woke up with his hangover.

The only other option was the bedroom.

He closed his eyes and found that his hand was on Cloud's backside.

Again.

He jerked his hand back down to the back of Clouds knees.

He had caught his hand doing that a couple times on the walk over.

His ass felt good.

 _~really good~_

"Damn it," he muttered and walked to his bedroom and laid down the drunk on his bed. He nearly fell on top of him as Clouds hand had been hand imbedded in his pocket but he ended up bouncing beside him.

Cloud made a happy little groan but remained asleep.

He wondered if he would be so happy when the hangover hit or would the normally broody self emerge with a vengeance. Laying beside him and seeing the silly, almost goofy, smile on his friends face and the sight of a small driblet of drool that left the corner of his mouth.

~ _Damn tempting ~_

He shook his head and got off the bed and looked down at him with a smile. "You are such a trouble maker, do you know that Cloud?"

Now, there was another problem. He frowned.

Should he just cover him with the blanket or remove some of his clothes. He should at least take off his boots and maybe his shirt….

"Damn it," he muttered. He was getting all tense again thinking about removing Clouds shirt.

He had seen Cloud without his shirt before. They had trained together quite a few times and had removed their shirts. Cloud had a pretty chest…

~ _and you could see it again in your bed ~_

He rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "Okay, just the boots then."

He reached down and undid Clouds boots and threw them aside. His legs were hanging off the edge of the bed. He would have to move him up on the bed, so he would wake up more comfortable.

~ _and where are you going to sleep? ~_

That was a good question. He forced all the inappropriate thoughts down, despite the fact that his body was betraying him again. He was going to need to have a very cold shower soon if his head didn't stop with the spine tingling inappropriate thoughts.

Of course, seeing Cloud stretch in his sleep didn't help his thoughts. Zack closed his eyes, counted to ten, and took some deep breaths. Okay. He had a little bit of control.

"Zaaa…" Cloud mumbled in his sleep. Clouds hands grabbed the sheets beside him and then rested again with that same silly smile.

At least he wasn't giggling.

He gathered himself up his courage and tried to think of thoughts that weren't going to make him all uncomfortable. He pulled down the blankets on the side that Cloud was not lying on. He grabbed Cloud under his arms and tugged him. He was thankful that Cloud was not a heavy man. It took him a great effort to control himself as he pushed and rolled the blond under his blankets.

Zack was panting and shaking by the time that Cloud was all tucked in. Not because it took a lot of effort to move Cloud, but hanging onto what little self contro that remained.

 _~a little feel would only be fair, he had your ass in his hand all the way from the train station ~_

"Damn it." Yeah, cold shower was a total necessity right now. Having to touch Cloud to get him under the blankets like that…

 _~ you can touch him more if you get in beside him ~_

He walked stiffly to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He stripped off quickly and tried not to think of the giggly drunk in the bed.

It was just because he was drunk that Cloud was acting like he was. It was just because he was drunk. Yeah. He jumped in the shower and cursed. The water was damn cold, but he endured it and it got rid of the unattainable desire. He stayed in the shower until he turned nearly blue.

He put on a simple pair of his house pants as he got out, still shiver from the enforced cold.

Cloud had not moved from where he tucked him in the bed but he was snoring lightly now. He looked quite peaceful…

~ _sexy ~_

…in his sleep.

He slapped his own forehead. He hoped that he didn't need to go back into the shower.

He was about to go and curl up on his small loveseat when he heard a phone ringing. He went to the bathroom to retrieve his phone from his discarded pants. He looked at the number.

Reno.

He answered the phone. "Yeah." He said simply.

"Reno wants to know if Cloud is okay." It was Rude's voice. Sharp and curt. He could hear some very unpleasant sounds in the background. He couldn't help but smirk at the thought of Reno puking his guts out right now. It actually made him feel a little better knowing that the imp was suffering right now.

"He is fine," he responded.

"He is with you?" Rude said.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't going to drop him in the barracks."

"Okay." and then the phone went dead. Rude was not one for long conversations.

Zack shook his head and clicked his phone shut. Whatever.

He looked back to the bed and saw sleepy blue eyes peering at him and a silly bright white grin. The phone must have woken him up and he was still being a happy drunk from the looks of it.

"Hey, are you thirsty?" he asked. He had to make sure that he got hydrated or his headache would be even worse in the morning.

"Lemonade?"

He was able to get that word out without slurring.

"I'll get you water," Zack said. "I think you had enough Lemonade."

There was a pout on his face but that was brief. Lemonade quickly leaving his thoughts, "I won!"

"Yes, I was there when you drank Reno under the table." Zack said. "I had to carry you here too because of it."

Cloud giggled now. "Thirrr…sss," he gurgled.

Okay, he was slurring his words again. Zack quickly got an Advil and some water. Those blue eyes blinked at him. "Here. Take this." He sat on the side of the bed so that he could give him the water and pain medication.

Cloud blinked at him and opened his mouth.

Zack eyes grew wide. He held the pill and felt his heart beating faster. Could he do that? His fingers began to move before he could even really think and placed the pill against Clouds lips.

He was not prepared for Cloud to close his lips around his fingers and how his tongue lapped at the tips.

He pulled away with a gasp and brought the straw to Clouds…

~ _very plump and kissable ~_

…lips.

Watching him sip from the straw was just as bad. He was going to have to go into the shower again if this kept up.

Cloud opened his eyes slightly, hooded slightly. "Thanks," his voice a little huskier than normal.

He tried to keep in light. Hell, he didn't want Cloud thinking that he was taking advantage of him in the morning. "Anything for you, bud," he said.

Cloud smiled at him again. He didn't know if he liked that smile, because it sent shivers down his spine.

"Hey, get some sleep," he quickly added.

"Zaack," Cloud said in that husky tone, drawing his name out in a way that made his heart skip a beat. Zack felt a hand on his thigh as Cloud's hand left the blanket that was covering him.

He jumped back and made a horrible laughing sound. Damn. He felt like a giddy teenager.

Cloud giggled.

Cloud tried to sit up but it must have made him dizzy because he collapsed back down in the bed. "J…just a – a- a," Cloud licked his lips and Zack decided that he was going to have to stay in that cold shower until Cloud became his normal gloomy self. "kiss."

"Cloud," he said and cleared his throat. "Okay. You are drunk. Very drunk and as much as…"

"Kiss?" Cloud said ignoring anything that he was saying.

"Cloud. I don't want to take advantage of you in this condition," Zack said.

"Why not?" Cloud said as he pouted again. "I… kiss?" He tilted his head a bit and his lips were in such a kissable position that it caused him to groan.

He turned his back from him. He couldn't look at that cute face right now because he did want to kiss him. He wanted to do more than kiss him. "Cloud. You are drunk and as much as I want to, I can't just take advantage of you. If you were sober right now Cloud, I would take you up on the offer, but you aren't."

He turned back and… Cloud was passed out again.

This waking and passing out thing that Cloud was doing was getting really annoying.

Then he realized what he said.

He just confessed that he wanted to kiss him.

He hoped that Cloud wasn't going to have any memories of this night.

~ _if he forgets you will have to remind him~_

He really was beginning to hate the voice that was inside his head.

* * *

 _Enjoyed it. Review it. A simple remark. An emoticon? It will be appreciated…_

 _I am beginning to think that I should change the name of my story to "Damn it"._


	4. Phone Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TEASE

TEASE

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now. Let me tell you, I had a strange dream so this can get strange…but I know you will like it.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **Phone Call**

* * *

Zack could not sleep. He sat on the loveseat in his living room and just kept looking to the bedroom; his bedroom with Cloud sleeping in his bed. His mind kept coming up with unwanted thoughts.

 _~ He wants it too. ~_

 _~ You could just cuddle with him. ~_

 _~ You could squeeze his ass again. ~_

Yeah, sleep was not coming. It was four in the morning and he couldn't even close his eyes. Every time he closed his eyes he kept thinking about how Cloud looked in his bed and…

~ _how he would look if he was naked ~_

…had to open his eyes again.

He thought of more ways of torturing Reno though. He never knew that he could be so inventive in the ways of torturing people. He didn't know that he had Turk tendencies.

He heard a phone ringing.

It wasn't his.

He checked.

It must be Clouds phone and he knew that Cloud kept his phone in the thigh pocket of his cargo pants when they were training, but…

~ _He is wearing some rather tight jeans ~_

He hoped that the phone was just on a clip on the side of his pants and not in his back pocket…

~ _front pocket ~_

…or something. He had not paid attention to where he was keeping his phone last night on top of all the other distractions that had been presented.

The phone stopped ringing for a moment. He hoped that they would leave a message. After all, it was four in the morning, who would be phoning Cloud anyway?

No such luck.

Clouds phone began to ring again.

Zack sighed and walked slowly to the bedroom. Cloud had obviously been tossing in his sleep, because he didn't have the covers over him anymore. He wasn't all huddled on one side of the bed and now sprawled at an angle across the sheets, his blond hair even more wild than before.

But since he was no longer under the covers, he could see that his phone was indeed in a clip on the side of his pants and ringing again with soft set of bells. Cloud wasn't even flinching at the sound.

The phone stopped ringing.

Hopefully, he wouldn't call him again. Cloud looked so peaceful sleeping there, with his mouth slightly open with one arm spread wide, one arm wrapped around a pillow and with one of his legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

~ _more than adorable ~_

The phone started again. Haven't people heard of voice mail? That is what it is for. Messages.

He sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to get to close to him and pulled the phone off his belt and looked at the call display.

It read, Red Menace.

He was pretty sure that meant it was Reno.

He was beginning to wonder what they had been talking about when they had been having their drinking contest. He contemplated shutting off the phone and leaving it at that but decided that he would answer the phone. After all, it was the red menace's fault that he was having sleepless night with a giggling Cloud snoring…

 _~adorably ~_

…in his bed.

He opened the phone and placed it by his ear.

"… _pick up already Cloud. Man, you can sleep like a log, you need to send the volume higher. Hey, Cloud, you there!"_

Zack just made a small grunting sound.

" _You alive man? I don't even remember leaving the bar. Rude said that Zack was taking care of you. You still with him, man?"_ Reno's hurried voice said over the phone. Zack frowned slightly. Reno did not seem to be suffering from much of a hangover. That was not right. The man could drink like a fish, throw up, and then be right as rain in the morning. He would have to find other ways to torture the menace. Zack made another grunting sound.

" _Hung over, hey?"_ Reno laughed. " _Oh, and by the way, I_ Let _you win. There is no way that you really could have beaten me in a drinking contest."_

Zack made a little snorting laugh at that. No, Reno was toasted and Cloud had won and that was all there was to it, even if he didn't last much longer than Reno.

" _Don't you dare go bragging that you won, because you didn't you spiky headed SOLDIER wannabe. No one can drink me under the table and you still sound like crap by the way."_

Zack chuckled lightly now. " _It was just because I was tired, that was all. If I was fully rested up, there was no way you can match me!"_

Zack was greatly amused by the conversation. He laid down on the bed beside the sprawled Cloud, smiling at his friend and listening to the rambling red-head. Cloud smiled in his sleep. He was adorable when he was asleep.

If only he could get him to smile more when he wasn't …

 _~ sleeping beside him in his bed ~_

…drunk.

He didn't realize the sound that he made at that thought, but Reno's words on the other end of the phone brought him back to reality.

" _Hey, man, is Zack still with you! Way to go man! Was he good kisser? How far did you go?"_

He just made another grunting sound, more out of shock at the statement and trying to suppress the words that were threatening to come out of his mouth.

" _Hey, am I interrupting a critical moment?"_ Reno said with a chuckle. " _That is so cool, but hey! No way! That means… Hell, I swear you cheated. You must have, how far have you got Fair Prince Zack and to even kiss you man. The guy may look at you with fire in his eyes but the man is a pillar of virtue man. How did you do it?"_

Is that how they saw him? Did he look at Cloud like that? He thought he had concealed those looks from the others around him. He knew that he did pay a lot of attention to Cloud because he really did like the often moody guy but… was it painted on his face like that?

" _Did you get to grab his ass? I mean, that was all you talked about last night? Did you?"_

He made a chocking sound and sat up on the bed. Cloud had been talking about his ass? He had certainly had his hands on it enough!

" _Oh my, you did!"_ Reno laughed on the other side of the phone. " _What did he do? Did he yelp like a puppy? Did you goose him? Man, I would have loved to see that. Zack Fair jumping and yelping like a silly puppy when Mr. Emo King starts to feel him up."_

They had talked about this! He was never going to leave the two alone again. Why the hell were they talking about his ass?

" _You still there?"_ Reno asked. " _Cloud?"_

He made a small grunting sound, a little shocked at what he was learning from Reno.

Reno made a sigh. " _Man, that means I lost two bets to you in one night. Hey, are you in bed with him?"_

Well it was technically true. He made a small affirmative sounding noise.

" _Ooooooooh,"_ Reno said. " _Okay, that is just so hot. You are so lucky man. I didn't get anything but kissing the porcelain throne and you got to a Fair prince. Hey, I gonna go crash for a couple more hours. I guess I owe you a bunch, eh. Give me a call when you can stomach food and I will set up a time for you and your prince-y."_ Reno chuckled and hung up the phone.

"What was the second bet?" Zack whispered at the now silent phone.

Cloud thought about him like that. It wasn't just a drunk induced action; he actually thought him more than a friend. Those thoughts made it difficult to breathe.

They had been talking about how his ass looked. On one level it felt odd but on another, it made him feel very, very warm.

He lay back down on the bed lying down so that his side so that he could look at Cloud. Cloud still had a smile on his face as he moved slightly and licked his lips.

~ _He won't get mad if you touch him. He wants you to. ~_

Zack smiled at him and slowly feel asleep with the thoughts that Cloud was not just doing it because he was drunk.

It was a restful thought.

* * *

Wanted to post this earlier but it wouldn't let me...  
Well, hope you enjoyed it. So if you enjoyed it, review, a emoticon, add a couple of dots... click that little button, or fave. Whatever.

1000 hits! Whoo hoo! Thank you all for reading my twisted little yaoi fic...


	5. Waking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TEASE

TEASE

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now.  
Change of POV in this chapter.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **Waking up**

* * *

Cloud didn't recognize the room that he was in. He blinked a few times and was grateful that the room was somewhat shaded. The amount of light that was coming in the room was bright enough to hurt his head. He looked around and knew that he wasn't in the barracks. He was pretty sure that if had been deposited in the barrack he would have been deposited somewhere else with either a heavy dose of make up or naked.

But he was in a strange room. Did something drop him in the barracks and this was some sort of sick joke?

His head hurt. His throat was dry. His stomach clenched. He was never having those damn lemonades again. He looked down and saw that at least he was fully dressed, well, almost, someone had removed his shoes at least. That was okay, but where was he?

He moved his leg and kicked something.

He looked down at what he kicked and saw a leg. A leg that was only garbed in a pair of slim cotton pyjamas bottoms that were standard issue for ShinRa SOLDIERS and infantrymen.

He made a little yelping sound and jumped out of the bed. Oh and that was a bad idea. The whole world swam and he fell to the floor with a heavy thump.

He swallowed hard. What if he was in some stranger's apartment? He was almost scared to look up at who was in the bed he was in! He was going to kill Reno for tricking him into that drinking contest! Never mind all the other topics of conversation that would be completely embarrassing if Zack found out.

~ _Completely embarrass you, you mean ~_

He felt like he was going to throw up. He scanned the room and hoped the door that he was swaying towards was the bathroom, because if it was the closet, he was going to make a mess.

Thankfully, it was the bathroom and he made it in time.

He puked what little was in his stomach out and wretched painfully. Man, he hated puking. He felt hot and cold at the same time. He hoped Reno was just as sick as he was. The man seemed to recover from his regular bouts of drinking way too easily. He seemed to remember that he won the drinking contest that they had. Oh, the thought of drinking made him have a couple of dry heaves.

A hand touched his back and rubbed it gently. "You okay Cloud?"

He closed his eyes and groaned. That was Zack's voice, which meant that was Zack hand that was rubbing his back. He sat back slightly from the toilet but didn't open his eyes. The realization that it had been Zack that had been lying next to him made him shiver all over.

He started to remember some of what he had done last night.

 _~ Oh man, what did Zack think of him? ~_

It was all Reno's fault.

He had been enjoying himself at the bar. It was a relaxing place and already had two ciders under his belt. The conversation between himself, Zack and Reno had been civil until Zack had left the table. He was quite relaxed and felt quite content for a change, and when Zack left to go talk to Kusnel, he watched him go.

It was Reno's comment that set him back. "Easy there, blonde," Reno chuckled at him. "If he sees you looking at his ass like that, he may give you a spanking."

He had turned so red at his comment. "It is not like that!" he quickly said and took a drink of his cider and realized that his bottle was empty. He knew that he was blushing.

Reno chuckled some more. "It's not like he hasn't looked at your ass like that," Reno said and then made a sharp whistle. "Two more here toots!" Reno waved his bottle of vodka laden lemonade at the waitress. She nodded and walked over to the bar.

He was still stunned by the other comment. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean. It means, that I have seen him give you the once over a couple of times now and I have seen you do the same to him," Reno chuckled. "He is just too nice of a guy to make the first move and all."

"You are imagining things!" Cloud said. "He likes girls."

"Yeah, well, you are a little girly," Reno said frowning at his own empty bottle.

"Hey!" Cloud said. "What the hell! I am not girly!" He slammed his own empty bottle on the table. "You have more of a girly body that I do. At least I have some muscle tone!"

"I am just lanky," Reno said, "hardly girly."

The drinks arrived.

"Well, you sure order girly drinks!" Cloud said put took the bottle into his hand. "What the hell is up with this stuff?"

"Hey. It has more alcohol in it than the beer or that silly cider that you have been drinking. Can't handle it tough guy?" Reno said and took a swig.

"Pfft. I could drink as much as you," Cloud countered and regretted it. Challenging Reno was never a good thing, but it was done.

"You're on. We shall see who the better is. Hey. I am already a drink ahead of you, you better down that and hurry and catch up already," Reno chided. "And I am a drink ahead with this stuff and not that weak ass cider that you are drinking."

"What is the prize if I drink you under the table?" Cloud asked and took a large swig of his drink. This lemonade stuff wasn't that bad, a little sweet, but he could drink it.

"Like you are going to," Reno snorted and waved to the waitress again. "He needs to catch up and bring over two of those gladiator shots too." The waitress just nodded and turned to gather the drinks.

"Yeah, well, what do I get if I beat you?" Cloud said again.

"I won't tell Zack that you keep staring at his ass. I mean, your eyes keep wandering there. I mean, you should be more subtle." Reno laughed.

"I am not staring at his ass." Cloud counted and felt that he was blushing. He may have glanced at it a few times, but that didn't mean that he was staring at it.

"Oh, yeah. You are. I mean, can't blame you and all. It is nicely rounded and all…shut up!" Reno said.

"You look at his ass too!" Cloud laughed.

"It is because you keep looking!" Reno said. "Drink up," he said and took a drink of his own lemonade. They both took a deep swig.

"Okay, so we both look at his ass," Reno said. "The poor Fair Prince will probably die of embarrassment if we tell him. And never mind you. You look like a beet."

Cloud laughed again. "Fair Prince? When did you come up with that one?"

Reno even blushed a little at that one. "He is just so chivalrous. I mean, did you see how he helped out that chicky who dropped all her papers. He was tripping over himself to help her get all her documentation in order that caused him to be late and Sephiroth ended yelling at him for being late for a meeting."

Cloud laughed. "Chicky?"

Reno smiled, "You are a silly drunk Cloud. We are gonna have to get you drunk more often."

Cloud continued to chuckle, "How about you will have to clean and iron all my clothes for a month?"

Reno laughed. "Really?" He leaned back in his chair showing his own unkempt clothing. "Would you trust me with that?"

They argued for a bit and settled on paying for the current bill, and the next excursion.

It was a few drinks later, Reno laughed at him again. "What?" Cloud said.

"You really have it for him," Reno said. "You keep staring at him and not just his ass."

"I do not!" Cloud said. "He likes girls. You even said that he helped that _chicky_ out. He would have no interest in me." He took another drink of the lemonade that was going down way to smoothly.

"I bet you that I am not imaging things. I bet he has the same hot's for you as you do for him," Reno chiding. "I bet if you made the first move, you could get him to kiss you, or more."

Cloud remembered how flustered he got at that and how hard Reno laughed at him. "Oh yeah. You want it."

"Shut up!" Cloud stammered but had found that he was giggling at the thought that maybe Zack would. Zack was wearing his usual cargo pants and they hugged his hips nicely and…

"If you kiss him tonight, I'll pay for dinner at Monteno for you and Zack," Reno said. "Exclusive restaurant and I can get us in, but he has to kiss you back, not just you pushing your tongue in his mouth."

Cloud nearly spit out his drink at that comment and continued to giggle with that statement. Of course, that was when Zack had come back to the table and then he really couldn't stop giggling. Every time that he thought about kissing Zack, or even touching him, he would break down into a new array of giggles and of course, Reno's laughing sure as hell didn't help.

And now he was sitting on the cold bathroom floor of Zack Fair's bathroom, with a hand rubbing his back, trying to comfort him and another hand placing a cool cloth on the back of his neck. "Do you think you have it all out now?" Zack said. Cloud leaned against the toilet and groaned. "Do you want some water?" Zack's kind voice said. "It has been couple of hours since your last Advil. I bet your head is pounding."

Cloud nodded.

Zack's hand left his back and he heard the water running and a cupboard opening. His battle calloused hand pulled him back so that he was leaning against the wall. Zack sat on the floor next to him. He had a small white pill in his hand. Cloud reached out to take it but Zack didn't see his hand and instead he reached up and place the pill against his lips.

Cloud thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head when he remembered what he had done earlier when Zack had offered him a pill. There was a small smile on Zack's lips as he put the pill into his mouth and offered him the cup with the straw.

Zack smiled at him. "You know Cloud; you are a rather silly drunk."

* * *

There we go. Another chapter.  
I hope you enjoy the change of POV.  
So, you know what to do... review, emoticon, or otherwise comment.


	6. Bedroom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now. Let me tell you, I had a strange dream so this can get strange…but I know you will like it.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **Bedroom**

* * *

"Better," Zack said as he pulled the glass back from the tired looking blond. His blue eyes were rimmed with red and he looked a little pale. "You have given me a very…

 _~ frustrating ~_

…active night."

Cloud looked at his lap. He was trying to avoid looking at him. He wondered if he remembered some of the stuff that he had done. Half of him wanted Cloud to remember and do it again now that he wasn't a giggly drunk and half of him was scared that he would.

He didn't know which was worse.

"Sorry," Cloud muttered, rubbing his forehead and groaning. "Got carried away."

Zack laughed. He saw Cloud shiver at his laugh. "We should get you back to bed, so you can rest."

Cloud looked up at him with a startled look. His breathing quickened and he looked like he went a little paler. Yeah. He was remembering what he did and Zack was quite sure that he was wondering what he was thinking of him.

~ _wishing he would start his giggling flirting again ~_

He offered him his hand. "Come on," Zack said. "Sleep is the best cure for a hangover."

Cloud swallowed and with a shaky hand reached up to take his. His hands were cool against his warm one. He was so nervous. Was he waiting for him to say something? Zack didn't know what to say though.

He pulled Cloud up.

Cloud's eyes fluttered as he did so and pressed against his chest…

~ _just like at the train station_ ~

…and pushed against him. A weak little, "Sorry," was heard from Cloud's lips. He wondered if Cloud noticed how quickly his heart was beating when he touched his chest…

~ _which is bare right now, so unlike the train station ~_

 _…_ and leaned into him. Cloud made a soft moaning sound and leaned against him, not just his hands, his forehead.

"Damn it Cloud," Zack whispered and closed his eyes. He could feel that Cloud try to pull away, but Zack wasn't going to let him. He couldn't. "I…I don't mind."

Cloud made a small strange noise. His hands were shaking against his chest and so were his shoulders. "Zack."

"It's okay." Zack said. "Let's get you rested. We can talk more later."

Cloud head moved in an affirmative motion against him. His hair was tickling him. He refrained from cursing, but he couldn't help but pull in a hissing breath.

Zack took a couple of deep breaths and then started to lead Cloud into the bedroom. Cloud leaned against him with some hesitant and shaky steps and was giving him a confused look.

"Do you want to get more comfortable?" Zack asked and felt his heart jump into his throat. "I have some training clothes that are clean, that will be more comfortable to sleep in." He can't believe that he was asking that! He was asking Cloud if he wanted to strip.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. Cloud still looked so pale. His hands twitched as he wanted to lift up the man's chin and force those blue eyes to look at him.

"Cloud?" he whispered.

"Yeah," Cloud whispered. "Thanks, Zack."

Zack got him the clothes and handed them over to Cloud with shaking hands. "Can you get…

 _~naked~_

…changed on your own?" Damn his inner voice.

Cloud nodded and still stared at his lap. He was shaking to. Was it because of the booze or something else.

"You sure?" Zack asked. He really didn't want to leave. He had been quite cozy sleeping next to Cloud before he startled awake. He wanted that back again and he wasn't to sure if he was truly comfortable with it, but staying in his little living room made him even more uncomfortable.

~ _it is not just his bod you want ~_

Cloud cleared his throat and swayed a bit on the bed, looking like he was going to fall over. "I can help you," he whispered.

Cloud breathing increased as he said that. Zack felt a little like he was pushing him probably a bit to hard, but with all the flirting that he had done…

~ _you should have acted sooner_ ~

… he was feeling a little frustrated. He was going to have to have another cold shower.

"I can't seem to…" Cloud started and ended with a sigh. He realized that Cloud looked like he was trying to undo the buttons on his shirt. "My fingers are not working," he said in a soft voice.

Zack smiled and knelt in front of Cloud. He saw the startled look on his friends face and he knew that his grin grew wider. He couldn't help but grin as he knelt between his legs. "I didn't push you away with all your other teases, why do you think I would turn you away now."

Cloud flush and gasped. Man. He was cute like this too.

He was a cute giggly happy drunk and now he was a cute confused and slightly ill hung-over recruit.

~ _he is just all around cute~_

Zack unbutton the shirt and tried not to look at Cloud's face. He could see that his hands were shaking and how he was taking in shorter breaths. He had to control himself too while unbuttoning the shirt. A lot of control as he pealed it off his shoulders.

Next, was the pants.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath and swallowed hard. The thoughts of unbuttoning those pants and pulling the pants off and seeing the treasure …

~ _seeing him in a whole new light ~_

…that lay underneath those tight jeans. Cloud made him a small groaning noise and his hands went to his head.

"Zack. I need to lie down," Cloud said and started to lean over. "My head hurts. The room... it... it is moving."

"Okay buddy," Zack said and watched Cloud lay down. The now shirtless man lay there with a small groan.

"Are you comfortable enough?" he asked, still kneeling beside the bed. He found his hands were pushing on to Clouds thighs and it seemed that his own hands wanted to betray him.

~ _your body knows what you want ~_

Stupid inner voice.

"Somewhat," Cloud mumbled a little bit. Clouds had his hands reaching down to his pants and he wiggled his hips a bit as he attempted to try to undo the button of his pants. "Just…want to curl up and sleep."

Zack had to close his eyes for a moment at the sight. Did Cloud even know he was doing this now? "Damn it." He opened his eyes again. He was going to need a cold shower after this for certain now.

"Pant's won't come.. off," Cloud said arching his back slightly and lifting those hips. He clenched his jaw at the sight of his trying to pull off his pants without out unbuttoning them. "Stubborn things."

~ _why don't you help him with that ~_

"You have to unbutton them silly," Zack said and reached to the waist band of his pants.

"Unbutton?" Cloud whispered and tried to look at his pants. He had a cute little frown on his lips. Damn cute lips that he wanted. He was getting sleepy again and Zack…

~ kiss him ~

…could hardly contain himself being so close to him.

Clouds hand continued to tug on his jeans. "I can unbuttoned them," he said and let his head fall back with a groan. His fingers were playing with the hem of his pants, but he wasn't even close to unbuttoning them.

"Damn it," Zack muttered again. He let his shaky hands reach touch that waist band and undo that button Clouds pants. Cloud gave out a sigh as he did so and then continued to tug down on the pants. "Damn it," came out of his mouth again as he tugged the pants down. He was…

~ _disappointed~_

 _…_ relieved to see that he was wearing boxers underneath.

Cloud wiggled his hips and grunted as the pants were removed. "Better," he mumbled and grabbed at the blankets surrounding him. With shaking hands he covered up the blond.

"Thanks Zack," Cloud said in a sleepy and dreamy voice with a silly smile on his lips as he went to sleep.

He stayed kneeling beside the bed staring at him, holding the pants that he stripped off his friend and staring at the dark blue boxers.

~ _why don't you join him? ~_

He took a deep breath and stood and walked to the shower. It was time for another shower.

* * *

 **Okay. Another** **chapter. You like? Yes. You enjoyed? Let me know.  
I know, it is a little like I am teasing you as well (can't help it) ... There will lemon and more in upcoming chapters...**

 **So, now that you have read it, review, comment, emoticon, growl... whatever.**


	7. Shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

 _Zack get a little bit of_ relief – _not from Cloud though,_ \- _smut & fluff (or is it lemon) in this chapter…! Also there is some strong language (Reno's fault) at the end of the chapter. Just so you know. Also, quite a bit longer than the other chapters._

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **Shower**

* * *

The second shower of the evening and all thanks to that man…

 _~nearly naked man~_

… that was now sleeping in his bed, getting over his drunken stupor. Zack was tormented with his own inner thoughts tormenting him and they all rotated around Cloud. Images of how Cloud had moved his hips when he wiggled out of his jeans made him lean against the wall of his shower and gasp. All the movements and words and …

~ _teases~_

…giggles from the normally stoic man.

He was beginning to wonder if he had to thank or kill Reno for tricking Cloud into that silly drinking contest.

He thought back to the phone call. Did they really talk about his ass? What else did they talk about? What did Reno call him? The Fair Prince. Where did that come from?

~ _your last name you idiot ~_

He frowned at himself and grabbed the soap. He didn't clean himself in his last cold shower and he was still hurting from all that teasing and then kneeling in front of the wiggling and nearly naked Cloud.

~ _all you had to do was remove his boxers and he would be naked ~_

"Damn it," he whispered and looked down at his painfully erect groin. Everything that Cloud had done tonight had made him all the more tense.

~ _the word is aroused~_

Yeah. He defiantly aroused. He reached down with the soap and touched himself. He used one hand to lean against the shower and moved his hand in practiced motion on his arousal. Of course this time, he had images and memories of Cloud's touches running through his head.

"Damn it," he muttered as he thought about how Cloud's hips had moved when those jeans had been removed…the ways his lips felt when he gave him those pills… the way his hand massaged his thigh… the way he chuckled and giggled…how his breath hitched when they were talking in the bathroom…He groaned heavily and leaned more heavily against the wall and increased the pace with his other hand. He closed his eyes and imagined how Cloud's hip bone…

~ _that's not the bone you are thinking about ~_

 _…_ would taste. How his lips would taste if he were to kiss them and how he could make some more adorable moans and groans come out of those lips.

~ _you could make his scream your name ~_

His inner voice took him over the edge. His belly was so tight as the rush of his own orgasm came. He whimpered Cloud's name as his knees buckled.

"Damn it," he muttered in a breathless tone.

He did admitted that he had thought about Cloud in the past but now as he sat gasping in the shower, trying to get enough strength to stand again. How did he start thinking about Cloud as a sexy…

~ _wants you to take advantage of him ~_

… damn giggly drunk. Cloud had gotten under his skin completely now.

How could he ignore the feelings that he was having now? Hell, he had already confessed them, even if Cloud was snoring.

He got enough strength to stand now and allowed the cooling water to rinse him off. He rushed to wash his hair and then got out and got dressed back in those simple cotton pants.

He looked at the door to his bedroom and the small loveseat in the living room.

He decided on the bedroom. It made him all nervous with these thoughts running through his mind, but he knew that he didn't want to not be beside Cloud.

~ _damn it ~_

Even his inner voice was cursing now.

Cloud had not moved for where he had left him. He was still cuddled under the blanket and looked so …

~ kissable~

…relaxed and calm.

Zack approached the bed and crawled in on the other side, being brave by crawling under the covers. He had fought monsters, dealt with a grumpy Sephiroth and he was reduced to a quivering fool around a young infantry man, who had been being a terrible tease.

He wanted to touch Cloud's back but held back. Was that too much…

~ _he kept grabbing your ass, you can touch his arm at least.~_

… to quick? They had not talked about anything yet but he wanted to touch…

 _~ his ass ~_

…the man that was giving off such warmth.

He couldn't move. He couldn't have moved even if someone had been trying to skewer him with a sword. He wanted to but he found that his breath was coming too shallow and he was uncertain of how Cloud would truly act when he was sober.

He didn't have to move though.

Cloud moved, which stopped his inner turmoil. Cloud reached for him in his sleep and turned towards him. He quickly took the hand in his own. He knew that he probably should turn down the hands that were clutching his. He should go sleep on his uncomfortable loveseat. He should be the good and caring commander and just make sure that he was okay in the morning and send him back to the barracks. Cloud's face turned to him and he was still sleeping and smiling.

He clutched the warm hand tightly in his own.

It was such a warm feeling and he realized and he could get used to this.

Most definitely.

* * *

Reno knocked on the door. He had tried both Zack's and Cloud's cell phone but they had shut them off after his fifth try of each. He couldn't help but grin widely. It was nearly noon now. He knew from the last conversation that they were in Zack's place. He knew that Cloud was in there and he wanted to know what had happened. He knew curiosity killed the cat and all, but there was no saying involving Turks.

"Hello?" He knocked again. "Are you two awake yet?"

The door opened and Zack stood there, just wearing his pyjamas bottoms. He looked quite annoyed.

"Turk," Zack said in a curt voice.

"SOLDIER," Reno said and pushed his way in. "Is SOLDIER wannabe here?"

"He's here," Zack said.

"I brought the ultimate hangover remedy!" Reno said as he held a tray of drinks in thermal paper cups. "You look a little tired, there Zacky."

Reno smiled as he walked in and saw Cloud sitting on the couch and giving him a bleary and slow smile. "Coffee." A shaky hand reached toward the tray that he held. Reno handed the very hung-over looking infantryman a cup. He sure looked shaky. Man, he was grateful for his almost supernatural power from recovering from a night of heavy drinking.

Tseng was the first to comment on how quickly he recovered from his drinking like that and it was greatly amusing to have it referred to as a superpower. It was a damn cool superpower to have and he planned on flaunting it as often as possible.

He watched as Cloud held the cup like it was full of the most precious thing in the world. He also was not looking up. Was there a flush on his cheeks? Oh yeah.

He watched as Zack sat beside him and grabbed one of the cups and leaned back into the small couch.

He wondered what had really happened last night between the two. He was going to have to dig for details. If only he had been more coherent in the phone call he could have got more answers.

"You seem to be taking your defeat well," Zack said. "Getting defeated by a half-pint like Cloud."

Cloud frowned at the comment but didn't say anything. Reno smiled at how closely they sat to each other. He made himself comfortable on the chair and took his own cup of coffee. They were almost touching.

"Hey, I'll beat him next time. I was just tired from my last mission, is all," Reno defended.

Cloud groaned at what he said and took a sip of the coffee. He winced slightly at the taste but said nothing. After all, it was _his_ hangover remedy.

"Next time. I don't think so," Zack said and took the lid off of his coffee, but he hadn't taken a sip yet. "You have done enough damage already." Wow. Zack was already acting overprotective. Cloud wasn't even noticing.

"Pfft," Reno said. "Aw, come on. I know you had a good time last night."

Cloud groaned a bit and rubbed his forehead. "If you call puking and having a monster headache a good part of the night a good time."

He watched as Zack put a comforting hand on Cloud shoulder, gave it a small rub and then pulled it back.

Reno noticed how that Cloud hair was messed up and he was wearing a pair of what looked like a pair of Zack's pants for they hung to low on his hips that you could see that was a pair of dark blue boxers beneath. He looked a little pale and his eyes looked like they wanted to collapse shut. He was even swaying a little bit. When Zack touched him, Cloud had moved toward the touch, ever so slightly.

Oh yeah. Something happened. He would just have to figure it out what. He knew he was grinning and didn't bother to hide it.

Zack turned his back to him. "Yeah. Great. A dunk Cloud, correction, a drunk giggly Cloud was quite a handful to deal with."

"Hey," Cloud said. He looked slightly offended but seemed to be content to take another drink of the hangover remedy.

"Well, you were!" Zack said in a slightly softer tone.

"Oh, I bet," Reno chuckled.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Zack said as he turned back to look at him. Yep, overprotective.

Reno shrugged his shoulders. "Just saying, is all."

"You are a pest, you know that, right?" Zack said.

Reno laughed. "So. What happened?"

"Thanks for the coffee Reno, you can go how," Zack said. He was getting that annoyed look. He leaned forward a bit. Did Zack even realize that it looked like he was protecting Cloud from him?

"I don't have to be at work until 2, yo," Reno said. "How ya feelin' there Cloudy? You look a little bleary eyed."

"Huh?" Cloud said and looked at him; he blinked a few times at him as if he had not been listening to the last bit of the conversation. "I beat you." Cloud said with a crooked smile. His mind was still a few sentence back.

"Pfft! I told you, I was just tired. That is all." Reno defended.

"Yeah, right. You paid last night bill right?" Cloud said and took a sip of the coffee and grimaced. Reno wondered if he had mixed it to strong. Cloud was not protesting though. He held back a grin as Cloud brought up the bets that they had made. It was the opening in the conversation that he was going to need to get more information out of him.

"I paid," Zack said. "I was the only semi sober one there. Rude took off with your lame ass."

"Reno needs to pay you then and the next time, he pays too," Cloud said and took a deeper drink of the coffee. Cloud pinched his nose as if a headache was taking over him.

Zack looked at him with concern but didn't move to comfort him. His hand twitched like he wanted to though.

"Oh, you will defiantly pay," Zack said as took a sip of his coffee. He made a gasping sound and then laid on a terrible glair at him. "What the hell! There's bailey's in here! Can't you lay off for a couple of hours?" Reno tried really hard not to smile that was threatening to break across his face. He didn't succeed all to well from the increased glare that Zack was giving him.

"Umm, baileys," Cloud said with almost a hum in his voice and took another drink. "Good stuff."

"Hey. You know, a little hair of the dog…" Reno stopped at the now death look that he was getting from the SOLDIER. "Hey, yo, it is all …"

Zack put own cup down and took the cup from Cloud. Yep, overprotective all right.

"Hey!" Cloud protested. "I need that!"

"I will make some coffee without Reno's _hangover cure_ ," Zack said and stood. "Don't drink anymore of that. Really!" The last word and an accusing finger were directed at him as he went into the kitchen to make some boring old plain coffee.

Reno smirked and drank his own coffee. Baileys was the best for hangovers, he drank it in his coffee all the time. He had given the flavoured coffee to Cloud a couple times now and he knew that Cloud enjoyed it. Of course, this was a little stronger than what he normally gave him.

He could see the frown on Cloud's face as he looked at the cup that was no longer in his hand.

"So?" He smiled at Cloud, drawing out the word as he spoke.

"What?" Cloud said looking at him with an innocent look that he should defiantly patent because he had it down. And he knew that Cloud was not that innocent of a guy. Especially after the conversation they had the bar last night.

Reno moved into the spot that Zack just vacated and leaned in towards Cloud. Cloud flinched slightly and then blushed something fierce. Oh yeah. He needed to know what was going on for certain. He needed to know what happened.

"Did you?" he said in a hushed whisper.

"What?" Cloud said again.

"Did you?" he said again and raised his eyebrows and puckered his lips. "With Mr. Fair Prince over there? Huh? The second wager?"

Cloud cringed a little in the couch, "I… I… don…don't really…"

"Don't bullshit me, here. I can see it all over your face." Reno said. "How far did you go?" Reno leaned a little closer to whisper. "Did you at least squeeze his ass?"

He swallowed and chewed his lip that showed that there had been definitely something that happened. He most defiantly had his hands on Zack Fair ass at some point in the evening.

"Spill or you forfeit your second bet, man," Reno said. "Did you guys kiss? Did you guys fool around?"

Cloud sputtered and looked to the kitchen where Zack was still working on getting his coffee machine to work. "Reno." His voice was low and a little tense.

"If you want to have that reservation at Monteno, you will have to kiss and tell, bud," Reno said. "And you will tell me. I want details."

Cloud's eyes darted to the kitchen.

Cloud opened his mouth, but then snapped it shut again with a groan. Reno was even more curious than before. He was quickly turning back into the brooding skittish Cloud. He had to get the information out of him before he was going to close up again.

"No way, blonde, I need to see proof," Reno said with a tease.

"Proof of what?" Zack asked as walked out of the kitchen. He could hear a coffee maker sputtering in the kitchen. Man, he needed to update his appliance, the thing sounded like it was going to die.

Cloud looked over at the cooling cup of coffee that he was no longer drinking. "What kind of proof?" Cloud asked looking a bit nervous.

Maybe they didn't go as far as he had hoped they had. Man, he couldn't read them at all, they were so guarded. There were so many mixed messages they were giving off.

Reno chuckled though at how red his face was. Oh, there was something that was getting to him. He needed to loosen up a bit more. He should have just brought the bottle of Baileys. Thing would defiantly get interesting if he had brought that. That is if Zack would let them drink it.

"Reno? Proof of what?" Zack said his voice low and calm and more than a little threatening. Reno was about to answer, when Zack placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned closer to him. It was a little bit intimidating. "Does it have something to do with my ass? I understand that it was a big topic of conversation."

Cloud gave a little groan and blushed even heavier.

"Well, ah, you know," Reno chuckled. Did Zack listen in on his conversation with Cloud that he had earlier. Maybe he had Cloud on the speaker phone. He couldn't tell if he was mad or what. Did he tell Zack that he liked his ass? Man, he wished they would be giving off clear signals. "We had another little side bet going on. That's all."

"Oh? And what was that?" Zack said.

"Just a little dare," Reno smirked, "but I need Cloud to give me proof," Reno smiled and looked closer to the very embarrassed blond who was now staring at his lap and looking like he really wanted that baileys infused coffee.

"A dare?" Zack said.

"Yep. Need some solid evidence," Reno said. "Wouldn't have any of that would ya?"

"Reno," Cloud whined. He was so red! He was damn cute when he was blushing.

"No compromising on this, Blondie." Reno said.

Zack suddenly had a big smile on his face and a strange sparkling in his eyes.

Zack sighed and walked around the loveseat and sat on the armrest beside Cloud. His arm casually resting behind Clouds shoulders, but not touching, and in a sort of leaning pose. "What kind of proof is he looking for, Cloud?"

Reno blinked and took a drink of his flavoured coffee. It hid the loud swallow that he just did. Zack without his shirt was damn sexy and the way he was leaning was nothing more than a perfect specimen of a man and the fool didn't notice that.

Cloud licked his lips, his eyes darted towards Reno and then toward Zack. He looked back down at his lap and chewed his lip in that cute way that he did.

"Solid evidence," Reno said. "I will not go out of my way to get you all set up, yo, without solid evidence. If you want to get a reservation at Monteno's I need the proof."

He looked at the two. Cloud was looking all nervous and refusing to look up from his hands and Zack looked like he was unsure of something or he was changing his mind.

They both looked a little awkward.

They both looked adorable.

Yeah. Something happened alright; he just wished they would spill the beans already!

"Well, I do have to be going, I have work to do and all," Reno said. "Just wanted to make sure that my two favourite guys were doing all right and all. Hey, well, at least I won't have to pay up on the second bet, yo?"

The indecisive look that Zack had once on his face, was now gone and was replaced with a smile and he wasn't hiding it. Cloud looked relieved, but then, he wasn't seeing that wolfish smile on Zack's face.

Reno stood smoothly, finishing his coffee. Zack smile, if it was possible, grew wider. It was a little unnerving. Zack cleared his throat, "I heard some great things about Monteno's."

Cloud's eyes grew wide at the words and looked up. He looked like he was going to say something but didn't get the time.

Reno was shocked as one of Zack's hands went to Clouds face and caressed it gently as he leaned a bit awkwardly but gracefully that caused the muscles in his bare back and stomach to ripple as he did so. In the same graceful motion he lowered his head at an angle and his lips touched Clouds.

 _~Holy shit, that is so fucking hot~_

He watched as their lips moved together. Cloud's shocked eyes closed as he reached into the kiss and he could see that there was some tongue wrestling going on there.

"Wow," he whispered as he watched the kiss look like it was going to go on forever and he wished it would.

~so very hot!~

At the sound of his voice, Zack opened his eyes and looked at him and broke the kiss. Cloud leaned back on the couch. His flush was so different now, not embarrassed but…

~aroused~

…content.

Zack was off the arm of the couch and he felt a rough hand on the back of his neck and before he knew it he was thrust out the door in a quick throw.

"Hey!" he yelled as the door slammed into his face.

Zack opened the door and peered through. "Set up that reservation, Reno."

"Hey!"

The door stayed closed this time.

"Damn it," Reno muttered.

* * *

They finally kissed !

Had a hard time with this chapter, but I think I finally got it. (I hope)

Review, Emoticon, Rave, Rant or otherwise! Thanks to all that do so!


	8. Couch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

Some activity in this chap between Zack and Cloud. Cloud's and Reno's POV again.

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **COUCH**

 **  
**

* * *

**  
**

Cloud kept panting as he watched Zack thrown Reno out the door. He watched in complete awe and all he could think about was how amazing that kiss was.

His fantasy's had nothing on the kiss that they just had.

His mind could only think about how his tongue felt, pushing against his own. How his hand felt like it was almost burning against his face. How he didn't want it to stop! His whole body was tense and rigid in other parts.

The kiss was amazing!

Zack now stood leaning against the door and was looking like he was panting and staring at him with a light in his eyes that Cloud didn't know what to make of. "Damn it." Zack muttered.

Cloud smiled. "You have been saying that a lot." He was remembering all his muttering while he was in drunken stupor and 'damn it' was very prominent part of his vocabulary.

"Yeah, well, it is your fault," he said and moved toward him. "You are such a tease, Cloud," Zack was beside him on the couch again and leaning towards him. One leg folded under him and the other on the floor so that they were facing each other. Cloud twisted a bit more so that they were eye to eye.

Cloud could feel his face burning again, but he couldn't look away. "I'm sorry," he found himself whispering. He remembered how he had placed his hand on the train and groaned inwardly. It was embarrassing to remember all that he did to Zack and he didn't blame him for calling him a tease.

~ _but he kissed you, so it is all good~_

He did tease him, after all.

Tease, groped and taunted.

~ _he must have liked it if he kissed you like that ~_

"Don't be sorry," Zack said in a gentle voice and leaned closer to him. He could see the strain on his shoulders for being in that position. He was shaking slightly. "I didn't know…" he saw that Zack flushed a little. "Man."

Cloud licked his lips and was shocked at the groan that came out of Zack's mouth and how his eyes fluttered. His eyes grew wide at that. Did he do that to him by just licking his lips?

"Zack," he said.

"Cloud," Zack said focusing on him again.

Cloud stared at Zack who was staring back at him. Cloud wanted to say a million things to him. Cloud wanted to tell him that he wanted more than the friendship that they had. He wanted more than just their training sessions. He wanted more that the nights on the town and the separate rooms. He wanted Zack, but he couldn't say that. How do you say that!

 _~by getting drunk and feeling him up~_

Yeah, well, he already did that. Now what do they do? That kiss was amazing and he wanted it to happen again. Did he do that just to annoy Reno? Zack wasn't moving and it looked like he was having difficult breathing. His whole body had a slight quiver. His normal still and calm happy self was looking tense. His lips were not in a smile or smirk and his eyes were sparkling with some weird mix of emotions.

He blinked and took a deep breath.

It was now or never.

He leaned forward and kissed him. Zack made a small grunting sound that sounded a bit surprised but joined the kiss immediately. Cloud let Zack take the lead now as his tongue forced his way into his mouth. Cloud put his hands on Zack's sides and he felt one of Zack's hands cup the back of his head and the other touch his thigh. His touch was so soft, even with his battle calloused hands. Zack's mouth moved so gently and urgently against his. He had to breathe heavily through his nose, because Zack was not letting him out of the kiss. Not that he wanted to stop.

Zack's hand on this thigh squeezed him gently and he found himself rubbing Zack's sides so that his thumbs hooked into his pants. Zack leaned against the kiss and he felt himself being pushed back against the couch.

~ _Hottest. Kiss. Ever. ~_

Zack broke off the kiss but still hovered over him. He didn't know how he could hold himself in that position. Zack was breathing heavily. "You better not be changing your mind any time soon," Zack's hand stroking his hair in such a soothing way. He could see sweat beading up along Zack's hair line.

He shook his head, causing his head to hurt a little bit, but the coffee that he drank was helping his head feel a little better. "I don't think I could," he whispered. He wanted to kiss him again.

~ _that will make me forget that I am still hung over ~_

"You aren't going to tease me like that again, are you?" Zack panted.

Cloud tilted his head slightly and licked his lips. It was a test to see if he really did have that much of an effect on Zack. He saw Zack's whole body shutter and he lost a breath for a moment.

"I can't promise that," he whispered and surprised at how husky his voice was as he said it. He was a tease and he like how it affected Zack.

He watched as his friend closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath, before opening them again and looking at him with such a fierce gaze. "Damn it, Cloud, did you do that on purpose?"

Cloud smiled and gave Zack a small kiss and tugged on his lip with his teeth before parting again.

"Tease," Zack whimpered and came down for another deep kiss. Cloud smiled gently as he waited for the kiss.

That was when he heard Zack's stomach grumble. Cloud blinked and laughed as he squeezed the man's side. "You seem to be hungry."

Zack gave him a small sheepish smile. "Yeah. A bit. How about you?"

"Urgh," Cloud mumbled. The thought of food did not sit well with his stomach. He looking over to where Zack had placed his cup of coffee that Reno had brought. The coffee had surprisingly had helped settle down his stomach quite a bit. Zack must have seen him looking at the coffee.

"The pot should be done. Do you want a hot cup?" Zack said. He had his hand on his thigh and he was squeezing him slightly.

"Yeah, coffee, would be good," he said.

"Hey," Zack said. "I know. Why don't you go have a shower and I will make you my hangover remedy. It will guarantee to feel better." His smile brightened as he leaned in for a quick kiss and he stroked his hair.

~ _ask him~_

"Do you want to join me... you know... in.. for... um... the shower?" Cloud asked and chewed his lips. Was he being to forward?

Zack gave a little chuckle. "I already had two last night."

He knew that he must have had a confused look on his face. Zack leaned close to him again whispering near his lips. "I told you, you were quite the tease," and those lips took his again.

* * *

"Ah, why the long face?"

Reno scowled as he looked over at Sissy who was looking at him with a large smile and glittering eyes.

"Shut up, Sissy," he snarled at her. He knew what she was going to say.

"Cissnei Quit calling me Sissy!" She said and threw her pen at him. He dodged.

"Whatever, Sissy," he called back.

"You are just a sore looser," she said with that stupid smile.

"I was just tired," he defended. Everyone knew! Absolutely everyone knew that he had lost the drinking contest to Cloud. It was Kunsel that had told everyone. He knew that Rude wouldn't tell, he wasn't the type to gossip. He should have known that Kunsel wouldn't keep his mouth shut. He would have to hunt that guy down later to teach him a lesson, even though the damage was already done.

"Excuses, excuses," Sissy said as she checked the monitors in the van again. "I can't believe you lost. It is almost like you lost your throne."

"Shut up, Sissy," he grumbled. He had been getting it all day. Even Tseng had given him a small smile when he asked him bout during his prior evening.

"Jeez, where is your sense of humour? And quit calling me Sissy already," she said with a glare.

It was Rude that gave a grunt and then said, "He is feeling left out."

He was ready to kill them all at that point. Rude didn't even look up from his monitors when he spoke that. Of course Rude would have to say something like that.

"I am not!" he snapped back at Rude.

"Left out? Of what?" Sissy asked.

Rude just gave a knowing smile and pushed up his annoying sunglasses.

~ _I am going to kill him in his sleep ~_

"Don't you have something to be watching there, Sissy," he grumbled. Yeah, he was grumpy and it was hard to put on a happy face.

"Yeah, yeah, but you are more interesting. And it's Cissnei! Get it right already. Just because you didn't win the drinking contest against someone who is more of a lightweight than you as well as a kid…"

Reno threw the notebook that he was holding at her. She laughed at him.

"Struck a nerve, huh?"

"Just shut up Sissy."

"Cissnei!" She hissed but went back to her monitor, looking greatly amused.

He frowned.

Well, so what if Rude was right. They didn't have to kiss in front of him like that. I mean, not that he wasn't egging Cloud and Zack on or anything, but they didn't have to kiss like _that_. At least not in front of him.

The way that they seemed so…

~ _hungry~_

 _…_ passionate for each other was almost like they were purposely teasing him. Even though, it really wasn't on purpose. The way the two men with their…

~ _naked chests~_

 _…_ Slender bodies leaning towards each other in such a…

~ seductive ~

…casual way.

Why did he have to go over there with coffee, anyway?

"Focus, Reno!"

It was Rude that had said that.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled.

How could he focus when all he could think about was how the blonde and brunette had been kissing and were most likely…

~ _screwing~_

 _…_ kissing right now!

It was hard not to admit that he was not feeling left out, when he was stuck on a boring van with Rude and Sissy. He would rather be making himself a nuisance…

~ _joining the fun~_

… in Zack's apartment.

Hell, he didn't even realize that he could feel jealous. He didn't need to have that SOLDIER flirting with him, or that pesky blonde SOLDIER-wannabe dragging him down. He had relationships and he was just fine with the way they were. He didn't have any commitments to deal with, it was as needed basis and that was that.

He didn't need…

~ _you just want~_

 _…_ to be in a relationship that was no more than a one night stand.

Of course, he realized what he just thought. That meant that he would expect more out of the two than just a one night stand. Hell, Zack threw him out by the scruff of his neck as if _he_ had the nickname of puppy instead of him. He was having some really messed up thoughts right now. Why was he even thinking of this stuff?

"Reno?"

He looked over at Rude.

"You are going to break you EMR if you grip it any tighter."

He realized that he was gripping his EMR rather tight, as if he were trying to break it in half.

He released his grip.

His inner monologue continued though. Fair Prince Zack wouldn't be that kind of guy to just jump from man to man or woman to woman. Hell, he was surprised that Zack had kissed Cloud at all. He was such a straight and arrow, type of guy. Hell, he knew that Zack was not had many lovers in his past. Two that he knew of. Cloud hinted that he had had experience beyond kissing but had not admitted to too much, but the boy was in the barracks, and a lot happened in the barracks.

"Damn it," he muttered.

He forced himself to take a deep breath, place his EMR on his hip and start to concentrate on his work instead of the stupid jealousy that was consuming him.

* * *

Um… so… I started a little bit-o-jealousy here with the red menace...

Zack and Cloud are starting to heat up a bit…so you all will just have to wait yet again... well, there will be more action ... soon... I promise...

Thanks so much for all the reviews... lovely... oh my god...So, if you read it comment on it... thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks and thanks...


	9. Dining Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

Some mild lemon in this chap between Zack and Cloud. (*don't hit me*)

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **DINING ROOM**

* * *

Cloud really didn't want to have a shower but the grumbling in Zack's stomach, interrupted their kissing again. Zack's stomach was a menace. Zack promised him to make him _hangover remedy_ to be ready when he got out of the shower.

And there it was. The smell at first made him a little nauseous as he looked at the greasy griddle cheese sandwich sitting on that plate in the dining room. Zack had apologized for eating already, put as he patted his stomach. "Stomach couldn't wait."

He had to stare at it for awhile before he had the courage to eat it. Of course, Zack was smiling at him with his bright violet eyes that were telling him to eat up.

He hesitantly picked up the butter laden bread and was surprised that his stomach accepted the food and wanted more. Of course, Zack's smile sure didn't help. The guy was hovering as he ate.

"Good, right?" he asked.

Yeah, they were good and even though greasy food normal made him sick, it surprisingly made him feel even better. He ate three of the things that Zack made.

"Feeling better?" Zack had asked as he took his empty plate from in front of him.

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "Much."

Zack smiled, ruffled his hair and went to walk into the kitchen, but there was no way that he was going allow him to walk away. As he walked by, he threw his arms around his waist, blushing a little bit at the thought that it was almost a desperate move. He didn't care though. He pulled the larger man into his lap and grunted at his weight.

"Cloud?" Zack said with a shocked look on his face and he put his arm around him.

"You're heavy," Cloud grunted. He felt like he was being crushed by a warm and wiggly weight.

"Hmmm," Zack said and wrapped his arms around him. "You shouldn't have grabbed me then." He said in a wonderfully seductive voice. "You are just going to get yourself into trouble doing stuff like that."

"With who?"

"Me," Zack said in a husky whisper. Damn, did he ever notice how sexy his voice was? "Want another kiss?"

~ _damn right~_

He was getting all excited again, just with the thought of him kissing him while he was holding the older man on his lap. He had his arms firmly around his bare waist. Of course, he couldn't talk. He just stared up into his eyes with a small smile on his face and waiting for the kiss to come to him and he knew it would.

He batted his eyes and licked his lips. He hoped he was doing it right. He was going to have to practice being a tease on purpose. Well, he did it right because one of Zack's hands cupped his chin, tilting it up and a gentle…

~ _not hungry ~_

 _…_ kiss started. At first, it was just their lips moving together and then Zack tongue reached out to his. He shifted uncomfortably as his growing erection pressed against Zack's thighs.

Zack chuckled against his lips. "Hmm. You didn't take care of that in the shower?"

Cloud blushed as Zack pushed his thigh against him and made him even more…

~ _aroused ~_

… uncomfortable. He wasn't going to tell Zack that he had either. Zack's mouth moved to his jaw and to his neck. He couldn't help but gasp and moan as Zack sucked and nipped at him.

This was his every fantasy come true! Zack absolutely mauling him with his mouth and it felt so damn good.

Zack pulled away slightly and looked at him. "Wow, are you always that loud?"

Cloud looked down again as he felt his face burn up. "I'll try to keep it down," he whispered.

Zack chuckled again. "No. Don't." Zack's hand lifting his chin up again. "I like those sounds," his deep voice going into a low rumble that just sent shivers down his spine.

It was Cloud's turn to reach for the kiss. He liked the noise he made! He groaned as Zack gave him a hungry kiss now.

He liked the noises that he made!

He did not have a lot of experience in relationships but in the last two, when he got _going,_ there was a hand placed over his mouth and they often whispered for him to shut up. It had always been so hard to be quiet. He knew that being in the barracks you had to be discrete and all, which is why he was the one that ended up on his knees with someone thrusting in his mouth.

Would it be different with Zack? Really?

Zack pulled away from the kiss and took a gasping breath. "I want to know what you like," he whispered breathlessly. "You don't need to hold back with me."

Cloud swallowed and involuntarily thrust his hips a little bit on the weight on his lap. He could see the amused look that it created on Zack's face.

"Tease," Zack whispered and tried to get off his lap, but he didn't want Zack to get up. He gripped him tighter and tried to pull him closer. Zack chuckled.

"I am comfortable," Cloud protested even though Zack's weight was hurting his legs quite a bit. "I don't want to let you go."

Zack shook his head and stood, pulling out of his arms. At first Cloud thought that he was upset at him, but he suddenly found the situation reversed. He was now in Zack's lap with his strong…

~ _hard pressing erection ~_

… arms wrapped around him. "I had a lot to think about when you were in the shower and basically, I made up my mind."

"Made up your mind?" Cloud asked as those hands held him firmly in place. He wiggled a bit testing his grip, but it was firm. Zack just gripped him tighter as he wiggled.

"Damn it… you need stop wiggling," Zack said with a gasp and leaning his head back as he did so. Cloud wanted to kiss that neck of his and see if he could make Zack moan like he had been, but he wanted to know what he had made his mind up over. So, he stilled himself on the lap, place one hand on Zack's shoulder and another on his muscular side.

Zack looked at him again with that devilish smile on his face, a hand squeezed his side. "Yeah. I made up my mind." One of Zack's hands brushed his hair back from his face and his eyes softened beautifully.

"About what?" Cloud asked and leaned close to Zack, so that he could breathe near his ear. It caused the 1st class SOLDIER to shutter.

"Quit being a tease," Zack protested, but not that strongly.

"Tell me then," Cloud whispered against his ear. "What have you decided?" Zack shuttered slightly but kept caressing his face.

Zack smile grew again.

Cloud looked at him and waited for him to say something. But all Zack did was smile and stroke his face.

"Well?" he finally asked, getting a little frustrated at the silence. "What?"

"Or first date. We will use that reservation at Monteno's that Reno promised us. Eh? Next Saturday, huh?" Zack said and stroked his hair in a smoothing manner. "You know that we can't make this all official until we have at least one real date."

Official.

~ _officially official official!~_

"Really?" he said in a breathless whisper.

~ _really, really, real~_

"Don't think I could let you go now. I know it will be a little difficult with my missions and all and with your schedule to, but I am pretty sure that I can even get things changed around a bit," Zack said. "We can train more often."

~ _don't want to just train with you, anymore~_

"It won't be just…" Cloud voice caught in his throat. He had been afraid that it could be. "…today."

Zack gave him a startled look. "Of course not! Don't think like that!" He gave a light chuckle "I know that you will not be good for me, though."

~ _not good for me? ~_

He felt his chest hurt. Did he mean that? He wanted to pull away. How could he say that?

"Oh, no. Not like that. Geez," Zack said and pulled him tight. "Glad to see you are back your moody self. It's just that you are an incredible distraction. I mean. I wouldn't say that I wanted it official if I didn't mean it. Man. I am going to have to be careful with what I say around you."

Cloud looked at him again.

"Don't pout," Zack said and kissed him gently before looking at him with amused eyes.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at him.

Zack leaned against his neck. "I will make it up to you." His voice went all sexy and squeezed him tight.

"Make it up to me?" Cloud said. "How are you planning on doing that?"

Zack grin grew wider as Cloud felt himself being lifted and carried into the bedroom.

* * *

Insert evil laugh here

You will have to wait for the next chapter…I know… chapter 10 for some 'interaction'. Ah hem.

*don't hit me*


	10. Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

Finally! Action! Z&C… a bit…of yaoi! So , you know… you can stop that chainsaw now Lady-yuna7 and I don't need any more beatings…. Okay….Look at the name of the chapter. BED…..*evil chuckle*

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now.  
Corrected some pitiful grammer errors...

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **BED**

Zack carried the startled Cloud into the bedroom. He couldn't help but smile at the slightly bemused look on his face with his arms were around his neck.

He laid Cloud in the middle of the rumpled bed and hovered over him. He scanned the shallow breathing man, up and down. He was so young and so beautiful. He had looked at him before but had never really noticed how lean the boy was. How his waist narrowed perfectly before his hips and the lean muscles of his stomach from the heavy workouts to get the chance to become a SOLDIER.

He hovered over Cloud. He had placed his hands on either side of Cloud's shoulders and his knees on either side of his thighs. He like how he felt like he was dominating. Even if he knew it was only an illusion. Cloud was the one that had all the power to control him, even if it only took pouting lips and a bat of his yellow lashes.

He looked down at the pants Cloud was wearing and noted that he could no longer see the blue boxers beneath. They had ridden down slightly as he had moved him. He could see that wonderful line of his groin disappearing into the pants.

~ _he didn't put his boxers on after his shower~_

"You look so good," he moaned and received a shy little smile in return as he wiggled a little bit to get more comfortable in the sheets. Zack leaned forward and gave his already kiss stung lips another kiss. "You taste so good."

"You…you said that you will…will… uh… make…it…up…oh… me," Cloud said. His eyes were fluttering a bit.

"Oh. I will make it up to you," Zack whispered near his ear. He was hovering close to him. It used a lot of strength to sit like this. He moved his mouth to the ear and tugged on the lobe. "You will regret teasing me."

He made some beautiful noises as he continued to his throat and then chewed on his collar bone. He went down on his elbows, and scooted down.

More beautiful noises.

~ _I bet you could make him moan louder ~_

Cloud stretched his neck and arched his back and accompanied all that with a moan that made his stomach flip. He pulled up and looked down at the divine form before him.

Zack smiled brightly.

Cloud gave a dreamy smile back.

Zack pushed himself back up on his hands and now kneeled over a very excited Cloud. The tenting of his pants was more than enough evidence. He wondered briefly if Reno would have accepted that as evidence.

"Wha…"

He didn't let Cloud finish his words. He reached down and hooked his fingers around those loose fitting pants and tugged. He did it quickly, because he wanted to see how he looked naked.

~ _you waited long enough ~_

He was not disappointed to see his bare hips…

~ _groin~_

…and thighs.

He eyed the young man hungrily as his full arousal was on display in a soft crown of yellow.

~Oh yummy~

He moved so he could remove the pants completely from him and toss them across the room. He then pressed a knee between Cloud's legs and he eagerly spread them apart. Cloud made a small cooing sound and his hand grabbed the sheets beside him.

~ _I am going to soooooo enjoy this ~_

He now had both his knees between Cloud's now wide spread legs and he rubbed those warm thighs with his hands. He took a glance at Cloud's face and saw the aroused flush that seemed to consume his whole body.

~ _he's a horny teenager and he is all yours now~_

"Oh yeah," he whispered at his inner voice. He _finally_ had Cloud naked on his bed. Those blue eyes of his were staring at him with what only can be called lust. His lips were parted slightly as he looked like he was trying to take deep calming breaths.

~ _will you be able to keep up with a horny teenager? ~_

He smirked to himself as he moved his hands up from his thighs, to his sides. He was going to find out. He watched in great amusement as Cloud's member twitched. He wanted to touch it but he held back. He wanted to tease Cloud a little bit.

Just a little.

"Zack."

The way he said his name in and how he drew it out with his breathing was the most amazing sound in the world.

He didn't say anything back, but leaned forward, his hands firmly rubbing his sides. He licked his lips and then traced his tongue down on Cloud's chest and took his small hard pink nub into his mouth. He sucked and nibbled on his nipple and had to hold Cloud's sides firmly with his hands.

Not only was Cloud a moaner, he was a wiggler.

~ _sweet ~_

He switched nipples and had to grip Cloud tighter. He felt Cloud's hand start to roam his back and tug on his shoulders and hair, as if he didn't know what to do with his hands.

He lifted his head and looked up at the obviously flustered Cloud. "Why… did… you… stop?" It was absolutely adorable that he was already breathless.

He didn't say anything in return but he felt a large smile cross his lips. He took each of Clouds hands and settled them at his sides and held them there firmly. He started to kiss the muscular chest again and then move his way down. His ribs. His stomach. He stopped at his belly button and thrust his tongue into the inny.

Cloud wiggled, moaned and thrust his hips slightly. He felt Cloud's member brush against his chest and refrained from groaning himself. He licked his lips and continued to kiss and lick and moved to one of his hips. He nibbled there and on the other side. Cloud whimpered and made begging sounds, but nothing was coherent. His hips were wiggling, as if he were trying to get him to pay attention to his cock, and he most likely was.

He began to kiss his thighs when words actually came out of Cloud's mouth. "Please," he whimpered. "Please," he begged and thrust his hips.

"Please?" Zack said and kissed close to the golden tuft. "What do you want?" He purposely was not kissing the throbbing and twitching shaft that was right in front of his eyes. Cloud's hands strained against his as he wiggled his hips as if he was trying to hit him with his cock.

"Touch me," Cloud moaned.

He licked Cloud's belly again, "I am." He knew that he was being a bit mean but the low moan and the way that his eyes stared at him with pure lust and need.

"Damn it, Zack," Cloud hissed through his teeth. "Take it!"

He leaned back a little further and looked down at the straining, red, and twitching cock. He ran his tongue up the member in a slow motion that caused Cloud to gasp and stop his twitching. Zack was pretty sure that he stopped breathing as well.

 _~Oh yeah~_

He wasn't going to let Cloud recover from that. He allowed his mouth to descend onto the overly aroused man. He let go of Cloud's hands and placed one on his hip and the other at the base of the cock. Immediately one of Cloud's hands was in his hair and he saw the other clutch madly at the sheets.

He revelled in how his tongue drew out amazing moans from Cloud. He knew that it wouldn't take long for Cloud to come. He was obviously way over excited.

Those moans became louder and more wonderful and then his hips rose from the bed.

"I… I… can…ah," he moaned and he knew from how he was moving that he was going to come soon. Cloud moved like he was trying to remove himself from his mouth, but he wasn't going to let him.

"Zack!" Cloud roared.

~ _He just screamed your name! SCORE!~_

Cloud's whole body tensed and his hips thrust into his mouth and he tasted Cloud's salty emissions. He kept sucking on the softening member and looking up at the gasping Cloud.

"Totally forgiven," Cloud moaned as he finally caught his breath.

Zack let the now soft member out of his mouth as he smiled and crawled back up the sated body. He kissed the droopy eyed man. "I told you I would make it up to you."

Cloud gave him a small and sleepy kiss and his eyes closed.

 _~NO~_

"Cloud?" he whispered and gave a bare shoulder a shake.

 _~NO! NO! NO! NO! ~_

Cloud just made a small satisfied little sound, but his eyes remained closed.

Cloud was asleep!

"Damn it!"

* * *

Insert evil laugh here

What really can I say…I couldn't resist torturing Zack further…He many not want to tease Cloud all that much, but it seems that Cloud can't even help himself!

clears throat and continues with evil laugh

* * *

Thanks Ziggy…


	11. Key Card

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

…possibly others… Another POV is added at the end here….

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now. Have to thank ZiggyPasta for betaing for me on this now!

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **KEY CARD**

* * *

Cloud doubted that he had ever felt more comfortable in his life than how he felt at that moment. He felt something soft touch his lips. He smiled. This was the best way in the world to wake up. He kissed the lips back and heard a soft and gentle voice calling his name.

~ _you feel asleep dummy~_

He opened his eyes quickly and saw that Zack was hovering over him. His violet eyes and smiling lips looked amused.

"Glad to see that you are finally awake, sleepy-head," Zack said.

He felt himself blush. He had fallen asleep after Zack had given him the most amazing blowjob of his life. "Zack, I am so sorry," he said and then he saw that Zack was fully dressed. He blinked a few times as he looked at him in his dark uniform and he even had his sword strapped to his back. "Zack?"

Zack stood up straight and rubbed the back of his head with a light chuckle. "Got a call from Lazard. Got to go, but I didn't want to leave without waking you up."

He blinked a few times as he stared at the fully clothed Zack. "I am so sorry," he said again. How he could he fall asleep on him like that? He glanced at the bedside table clock. He had been out for 3 hours!

3 hours!

Zack chuckled. "Don't worry about that," he said with his characteristic disarming smile. "I already scheduled you in on my calendar for tomorrow night." He said. "You can pay _me_ back then."

Cloud frowned. "But…" he said and realized that he was still very naked. "I…I..." What else could he say? He grabbed the blanket to keep it from uncovering him as he sat up more fully. "You didn't…you know…get any," he flushed as he said that. He sounded so pathetic.

Zack just smiled. "I'll survive." He moved around the bed. "Did you enjoy yourself?" He put his hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side. He then absently pushed his thumbs into his belt. He was so sexy and he had been so selfish! How could he fall asleep!

"Hey," Zack said and sat on the edge of the bed. "Don't look like that!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered again. He didn't know what else he could even say. He had fallen asleep! He was pathetic!

"Quit saying that," Zack said and he felt his leather glove on his chin, lifting his head up. "I'm not sorry for anything that happened."

Cloud blinked at him.

~ _Really~_

"Well, okay, I am kind of sorry that you fell asleep on me but I'm not mad at you," Zack said and leaned in for a soft kiss. "You get all rested up and you will make it up to me tomorrow night. Okay."

He didn't sense any anger in his voice or his stance. Of course, Zack was never one to be angry.

"Geez, quit looking like I am going to beat you or something," Zack said and kissed him again. "Plus," he said with a small cough and his voice trailed off, "I need to…" the rest was left to mumbles as Zack straightened himself.

"What was that?"

Zack's smile was nervous now, "Well, you know. My place was not exactly, um, _stocked,_ if you know what I mean."

~ _stocked?~_

He just blinked at the embarrassed looking Zack.

"You seemed to have plenty of food." Cloud said. If he remembered, Zack always had lots of food and why would he be embarrassed over having lack of food in the apartment?

"Well, I always have food," Zack said nervously and stood from the edge of the bed. " _Other_ types of supplies."

~ _other types of supplies?~_

He looked at Zack with what he was sure was a confused look on his face.

"Okay. Okay. Okay. It is that I don't have any you know…" his voice softened as he spoke and looked at the floor when he spoke. "…lube and…stuff."

~ _he didn't have the right tools to sex you up~_

Cloud tried really hard not to smile or laugh.

"Hey, it has been awhile for me okay!" Zack said crossing his arms and looking down at him.

Cloud couldn't help but grin then.

"Is that why you didn't wake me up?" Cloud said.

"Part of it," Zack admitted and rubbed the back of his head and was standing a bit awkwardly.

"What was the other part?" He said as he knelt on the bed. He made sure the blanket was wrapped around his waist for the sake of modesty. "I could have given you…" he flushed slightly. "…you know."

 _~A blow job~_

"We don't need _supplies_ for that." He had to look away when he said that. He was not used to being so forward.

Zack gave a small chuckle again. "Well, it was just that…" he swallowed, "You were…um… so cute sleeping there; I really didn't want to disturb you."

He wrinkled his nose. "Cute?"

"Yeah," he said and looked back at him.

"That is hardly what a guy wants to be called," Cloud frowned at him.

"I know, but that is the best word for it," Zack said and then stooped for a kiss. "Hmpf, I really gotta go."

~ _don't go~_

"I left you my spare key card on the table so you can get back in tomorrow," Zack said in a way too casual sounding voice for something so serious. "It will give you access to the elevator and all."

~ _Zack just gave him his key! ~_

He must have looked stunned. Zack chuckled. "You can come whenever," he said and started to walk to the door. "I will see you tomorrow."

Cloud blinked a few times as he heard Zack putting on his boots.

~ _Zack just gave him his key! ~_

Cloud jumped out of the bed, aware that he was naked and didn't care. Zack gave him a startled look as he had his hand on the door knob. He rushed the startled SOLDIER and gave him a passionate kiss as he pushed him against the door.

Zack winced. "You are making it really hard to leave," he gasped as the kiss broke. Zack stroked his naked sides.

"I know," he said with a smile.

~ _A key to Zack's place ~_

"Wanted to thank you," Cloud said. "Best way to think of it."

"Indeed," Zack said and kissed him again. Cloud was very aware at how Zack was looking up and down his body and saw how he licked his lips.

Cloud smiled at him. "You will have _supplies_ for tomorrow, right?"

Zack groaned. "Oh yeah."

"Good," Cloud said and took a step back from Zack.

Zack frowned at him and narrowed his eyes. "You're still a tease when you're sober."

Cloud smiled but feeling graceless standing there naked. Zack didn't seem to notice. "I really got to go," he said with a tone that sounded like he was disappointed. "Tomorrow."

Cloud smiled. "Tomorrow."

And they parted with a kiss and Zack groping his butt before he walked out the door.

* * *

He was tired and not the type of tired that he like to be. He was tired from the stupid meetings that he was forced to attend and trying to hide his levels of annoyance at how pathetic his day had turned out.

He was so tired of people whining for money for whatever project that they were doing. He was tired of people swooning over him and tired of people thinking they could win his affections with gifts and invites to dinner.

Meetings. Phone calls. Papers. Everything he absolutely hated.

He didn't know how he managed to endure such a boringly painful day!

He never once got to draw his sword.

That was the definition of a bad day.

As he got out of the elevator, he saw an unwelcome sight. What was an infantry man doing on this floor? The blond boy was busy looking at his phone and had a goofy smile on his face.

He had to step aside to let the boy by. The boy didn't even notice him.

~ _What the hell?~_

He was not used to going unnoticed and it irked him that the boy seemed to be in his own world, scrolling through messages on his PHS.

He scowled as the boy stepped into the elevator and seemed to chuckle on his phone.

And why was the infantry man wearing one of Zack's shirts?

He watched the door close.

He glared at the doors for awhile. He did not like the ignored feeling that he was feeling right now. It was making more irritable than ever before. A small boy wearing Zack's clothes, with wet hair, smirking at a PHS and ignoring him!

~ _no one ignores me ~_

He wondered who the hell the boy was to have such audacity to be on the 1St Class SOLDIER floor and _ignore him!_

He took a couple of deep breaths. The theory was that it was supposed to calm him. That was what people kept telling him. It seldom worked but it forced him to think and rationalize. There were few things that calmed his anger.

But he did not have any rationalizations for why the boy was exiting the SOLDIER floor. He also could not think of any explanation as to why he was wearing Zack's clothes!

He frowned.

He started to walk down to the end of the hall, to his room.

The blond had just walked past him like he wasn't even there!

~ _HE IGNORED YOU! ~_

He was tempted to go back to the elevator, hunt down the kid and give him a piece of his mind!

~ _Who the hell do you think you are? ~_

He entered his own apartment, even more frustrated and angry than he had been before, and it was all because he was ignored by a boy that was wearing Zack's shirt.

* * *

Well another chapter added...you can tell me what you think.

It seems that Cloud is not only a tease, but good at annoying people as well...(couldn't resist)


	12. Text

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

…possibly others….

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **TEXT**

* * *

 **Bud:** Way to go!

 **9099:** U R A HERO

 **7877:** Where R U?

 **Red Menace** : Turn on your phone, you idiot!

 **John** : Hey, are you okay?

 **Len** : Did you really drink him under the table?

 **Buster:** Saw Reno. He looks pissed. Way to go.

 **John:** Lunch?

 **Red Menace:** Call me when you are done with Zack.

 **9981:** You are legend.

 **Greg:** I by u a drink. Way to go!

 **Sissy:** Thanks for the amusing material to use on Reno. He's quite grumpy today. Thanks for making the stake out so so so so so much more enjoyable.

Cloud frowned. Sissy? He didn't remember programming that number into his phone. Who was Sissy? Reno must have had his phone again. He always was changing the names in his phone. It must be someone that worked with Reno but it sure didn't sound like Rude. Hell, he didn't think Rude knew how to text.

 **Pete:** WTFRU?

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Pete and his stupid short cuts; they did not do any good when nobody knew what they meant. He smiled as he figured it out. Where The Fuck Are You. Yeah. Pete was like that and he was almost used to the strange letter combinations that he came up with.

 **John:** Hey, did you survive?

 **8871** : What the hell? Is it true? Did you out drink Reno?

 **9099:** I will bear your children. Even get the operation to do it!

9099? Who was that? Man, that guy was ill. Oh. That must be Joseph. The guy was most effeminate guy had ever met and a very agile fighter, but the ultimate form of girly. He was uber masculine compared to him. Yeah. Joseph would say something like that. He would have to hit him when he saw him next and maybe block his number.

 **Bud:** You are totally famous!

Famous? He wondered who else knew.

 **Pete:** Again! WTFRU!

 **Kunsel:** Way to go kid! Hope you're doing well. I didn't mean for the whole place to know. I just told a few people, I have to avoid Reno for awhile.

So that was how the word got out. Kunsel told everyone. Cloud remembered that Zack had talked to him that night at the bar. He wondered who else saw Zack dragging his drunken ass out of the bar. He wondered who else saw him drinking with Reno, but he guessed it really didn't matter. From the text messages, it was quite clear that everyone knew.

Reno was going to be pissed.

 **Red Menace** : I hate you

Yeah. Reno was mad at him. He noticed that he had sent that text to Kunsel and Zack as well.

 **3253:** way to go

 **1123:** I love you man.!

 ***unknown*:** no one can out drink reno. Quit spreading lies.

Great. He had fans and haters because of that drinking contest.

 **MEETING REQUEST: Debriefing:** Zack Fair has scheduled a meeting with you for X date at X time. Please respond to confirm the meeting and location (Zack's quarters)

He _DID_ book him in for a meeting.

~ _debriefing~_

He shook his head as he read that. He actually put that in the calendar! And that silly lunk-head had named the meeting 'debriefing'. Man, that was embarrassing but he accepted the meeting request.

It would be on his official and public calendar. He knew that people would not think that it was _that type of debriefing_ , but he did and that was embarrassing enough.

 **7992:** Ha! You put Reno in his place!

He cringed. He was going to have to delete these before Reno saw them. He was going to be so mad.

It was a drinking contest and it was not like he won gracefully or anything. Man, if anyone saw how he had behaved. He blushed at how he had behaved in public. He really hoped no one saw him

 **8887:** Just a warning. Joseph is mooning over you. Run.

Great. Now he had a fanboy and it was the creepy Joseph. And speaking of Joseph, there was yet another message was from the strange fanboy.

 **9099:** Hey Cloudy. I got a present for you. ;P

 **Zack:** Wow. Everyone knows that you out drank Reno, mountain boy. I'll phone Reno after my meeting to try to calm him down. He sent me a hate text. Did you get one?

Yeah. He would have to call Reno to. He was a little bit put out obviously. He would have to thank Reno for kind of setting them up. Sort of. Drinking yourself silly was a painful but still pleasurable way to get a boyfriend.

~ _boyfriend~_

He stopped in his tracks.

He had a boyfriend. A real one. Not just a fuck buddy, because that was all he really could call his relationships before, but a boyfriend. Zack had given him his key after all and promised…

~ _supplies~_

…him a date.

That felt good. Real good.

 **Red Menace:** Got you and princey reservation. Sat. 7. Make sure you amatore's can make it. Private room. Bastards.

He got them a reservation at Monteno's! Amazing. And what the hell was Amatore's mean? He wondered if it was something dirty. He wouldn't put it past Reno to do that. He would ask him later. It must be since he signed it off with calling him a bastard.

He grinned as he continued to walk down the hallway. He was nearly at the barracks. He didn't even really remember walking there. He was so engrossed with all the text messages.

He was not used to being the center of attention.

He was about to dial up Reno when he walked into the barracks. Someone clasped his shoulder as he was walking in and said: "Never knew you had it in you," and walked out.

He blinked a few times and walked to his bed and saw that it was occupied. It was occupied with a couple cases of that lemonade that he never wanted to see in his life again. It almost upset his stomach again the sight of those cases.

"Cloud!"

He turned to the loud yell. It was John. The tall short dark haired, almost like he was bald, man smiled brightly at him. Thank god it wasn't Joseph.

"I was worried, man." John said and grinned at the boxes of liquor. "We thought that you could use some more practice material."

He must have made a face, because John laughed at him. It was the next sentence that he spoke in a low whisper. "Joseph is hunting you man. He is like, obsessed. It is a little scary."

He rolled his eyes.

"Let's go get something to eat and you can tell me all about how you out drank Reno and where the hell you have been all day. You wouldn't answer your phone!" John said and started to escort him towards the mess hall. He wasn't hungry, but he didn't want to look at the array of drinks that were on his bunk. He hoped that someone stole them before he went back to bed for the evening.

After all, he needed to make sure that he was well rested so that he didn't fall asleep on Zack again.

* * *

"Will you stop it?"

"What?"

Yeah. There was no innocence in her voice. At all! He wanted to throw his phone at her. He deleted the message that she had been sending him every hour.

"You are such a child, Sissy," he grumbled at her.

"Cissnei!" She said simply but was not really mad anymore. It was like it was reflex for her now.

Did Rude chuckle?

"I will kick your ass later," he grumbled. Man. It was supposed to be a fun drinking contest and it was looking like he was an absolute failure because of it. He did not like this at all. How was he going to redeem himself in the eyes of…of everyone for losing to Cloud!

His phone rang.

"What!" He snapped into the phone without looking at the caller ID.

 _"Ouch. That kinda hurt. Is that how you normally answer your phone_?" A calm and amused voice answered on the other side.

Zack.

"Yeah. Whatdayawant?" He grumbled. He just got the reservation done and texted out the notice to the two. He made good on his bet, he didn't want to hear his voice right now.

" _Well_ ," Zack's voice drew out. " _Kind of wanted to apologize for throwing you out like that. I mean_ _, I_ _was just a little wrapped up in all of the…well…um…just…I was…I mean. Damn it. I was distracted and I know that I pissed you off and all with throwing you out by the scruff of your neck…_ " There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone. " _I got your message about the reservation. That must cost a fortune. I'll help pay the cost of that. You don't have to foot the whole cost and we don't have to tell Cloud. Private room must cost a fortune. You also don't have to pay_ _m_ _e_ _back for the night out. I can eat the cost but Cloud will insist that you pay for the next outing. So, bud, are we still buds?"_

Reno shook his head at the longwinded speech his friend just gave. How could he stay mad at the…

~ _absolutely gorgeous~_

…guy?

"You don't have to pay. I make more than you anyway," he grumbled into the phone, very aware that Sissy and Rude were listening to him.

" _You don't have to rub that in_ ," Zack mumbled.

"And we are still buds. I am pissed at Kunsel right now though," Reno said. "Damn blabber mouth."

Zack laughed.

~ _damn sexy laugh~_

 _"Sorry about that man_ ," Zack said. " _So we are cool, right_?"

"Cool," Reno said with a bit of sadness.

" _You sure. You sound a little down?"_ Zack said in a low concerned tone.

"I'll get over it," he said.

~ _doubt it~_

" _Okay. Oh and thanks, Reno. I do owe you_ ," Zack said. " _Got to go. Lazard will chew me out if he sees me chatting on the phone._ " And the phone went dead.

He ground his teeth. Rude gave him that annoying knowing look again. Sissy just sent him another annoying text message.

"I am gonna kill you in your sleep," he grumbled to her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said and was already tapping something into her phone. It was getting very annoying.

* * *

Wow…over a 100 reviews! I am thrilled with the response! I thank you all. There are still so many things I want to add to this!

Thanks you all.

Thanks to my Beta – Ziggy.

Oh, and as a teaser, there will be more _interesting_ content in the next chapter.


	13. Living Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…

Just so people won't be so mad at me… well… maybe not so mad… we will see after this *evil laughter* chapter. Extra long, double of my normal ones, but I think it was overdue and I am sure most of you will also agree, even though, I don't think you are going to get all that you are craving….

… **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **LIVING ROOM**

* * *

Zack raced home. His phone had already alarmed alerting to him that he was late for his booked meeting. He was so late and he had to get home now. He had Cloud…

… _your debriefing…_

 _…_ waiting for him back at his place.

Late!

Damn it! It was the last thing that he wanted of all days and he was late! And what the hell did Sephiroth want to talk about anyway. The guy was not one for conversation but seemed to be purposely delaying him today. Normally, he would have thought it was great that he wanted to talk but today was not one of those days. The whole conversation was going nowhere and he never got to the point before finally being dismissed.

Sephiorth could be just so weird at times.

He was nearly there. Damn elevator was so slow and he knew better than to keep pressing the buttons. He had done that before, it stalled the elevator and he was not going to take that chance tonight.

Cloud was waiting for him.

He refrained from dashing down the hall to his place. It was hard, but he walked down the hall to his door, just about gave him a heart attack when he thought he lost his key card, but found in his left pocket, instead of his right.

He opened his door. "Cloud?"

He looked around. His place was a mess. He hadn't been back to clean up after he had to leave earlier. Coffee cups were still on the coffee table, dishes still on his small dining room table, a frying pan still on the stove; a complete and utter mess. There were two pizza boxes on the counters. He saw Cloud's boots by the door. Cloud was here and he brought supper!

~ _and you forgot something to bring what you promised!~_

He smacked his own forehead and groaned.

Cloud emerged from the bathroom. "Hey Zack," he said cheerfully.

He smiled but the smile quickly left his face.

~ _Dear Gaia!~_

"Cloud!" He said in a startled voice. "What happened to your arm? And your face?"

Cloud just shrugged which seemed to cause him a bit of pain and he winced. He gawked as he saw Cloud's right side of his face was slightly swollen, but the biggest problem was the bluish bruise that ran up the left side and beside his eye. He didn't have a black eye, but his eye looked red and slightly watery. And then there was his right arm which was in a sling.

"Training," Cloud said simply. Cloud screwed up his nose. "What were you doing today? You stink."

 _~damn he's cute even if he was insulting him. ~_

 _"_ It was a busy day," Zack said. "What the hell happened to your arm?" He started to walk towards Cloud but Cloud covered his nose and took a couple of steps back.

"Seriously, Zack. You smell like a skunk. You should go have a shower," Cloud said making a nasally sounding voice.

"How about a kiss first, hmm?" He said still walking forward. Cloud skirted the couch, still keeping the distance between them.

"Uh-uh," Cloud said. "Shower first."

He let his shoulders fall and gave his best crestfallen look and could see the look on Cloud's face changing to a concerned one. He looked at the infantryman and tried to keep his smile to a minimum, "Join me? You can wash my back." The smile didn't stay small for long.

Cloud gave him a sheepish grin, "Can't get my bandages wet."

"Bandages?" Zack said, alarmed. "What the hell happened in training?"

"Just some burns on my back. Some materia casting got carried away," Cloud said.

"Why didn't they heal you?" Zack said and took a step forward. Cloud crinkled his nose again and took a step back. Did he smell that bad? No one else commented. Maybe that was why Sephiroth never got to the point.

Cloud shook his head and cleared his throat. He spoke in a practiced and rehearsed tone, "Can't expect to heal the instant you are hurt. Can't expect to have enough energy to cast. Can't expect to have a potion at hand. Now, learn to embrace the pain. Live with it, maggot. You want to be a SOLDIER? Learn to love the pain. So suck it up, princess."

Zack sighed, "Instructor Clark." He remembered getting that speech a few times when he was still trying to make it into SOLDIER. He really hated instructor Clark back then and hated him now even more.

"Yep," Cloud said. "I took some of your painkillers. It just looks worse than it is. Really, um, Zack, you need to have a shower." He put his hand over his nose again. "Were you down in the labs or something? You absolutely reek."

"No kiss?' Zack pouted.

"After you shower!" Cloud demanded.

"Geez, a little demanding aren't you." Zack said with a smile and walked toward him again. Cloud bumped into the coffee table, trying to back away from him. He crinkled his nose so adorably.

"Just go wash!" He exclaimed.

Zack sighed. "All right, all right, Geez. I just wanna kiss."

Cloud smiled. "After you shower."

* * *

Zack had to scrub his hair at least three times, to get the smell out and was in the shower longer than he had hoped. The fumes down at the lower levels really were pretty strong. He wondered what it was, but at the same time, he didn't want to know. Sometimes it was just easier to be in the dark about some things.

He wanted to kiss Cloud and he was also concerned about the extent of his injuries. He was so vague about them and he was anxious to make sure that he was really okay. Instructor Clark was a bastard and this proved it even more in his mind. He understood the philosophy. He had been injured in the field unable to be healed for a couple of days, but now it was interrupting his…

~ _nooky time~_

… personal life.

He quickly dried and pulled on a pair of boxers and went into living room, where Cloud was sitting on the couch, looking like he was uncomfortable. He was leaning forward in the seat.

"How bad is your back?" he asked as he sat beside him and tried to look through the t-shirt to see if he could see the bandages.

Cloud shrugged. "It is just a few burns."

"Take off your shirt," Zack said sternly.

"What? Don't I get a kiss before you strip me?" Cloud sneered.

He laughed and leaned forward and gave Cloud a gentle kiss. He didn't want to hurt the already hurting Cloud. It looked like a flat of the blade had been smacked against his face. "Good. Now, take it off so I can see how bad you are hurt."

Cloud sighed. "I'm fine, Zack." He protested but he winced at the same time.

"Humour me," Zack whispered. He reached out and took Cloud's hand. "I can get some potions…"

"No," Cloud said. "If I show up to training fully healed, I will be called a wimp again." Cloud smirked and looked at him with his bright blue eyes.

"Wimp?" Zack said. He hardly thought of Cloud as a wimp. The guy was always up for a challenge, more than a few of the military that he had dealt with in the past.

"Don't worry about it," Cloud said. "It's just the usual idiots."

Zack didn't like the idea of people picking on Cloud. There were always bullies. He remembered that there were always a few jerks that made people's lives miserable. He was one that made the bully's life miserable and he would do it again to protect Cloud.

~ _over protective much~_

"Don't worry about it!" Cloud said. "They've backed off a bit."

"Backed off?" Zack was beginning to wonder if he was just going to parrot Cloud for the rest of the evening. He was a little disturbed that he was hurt and now he was finding out about bullies.

"Yeah. Well. The whole drinking Reno under the table thing," Cloud said. "I mean, they backed off, they don't know what to make of a 'half pint' like me out drinking that notorious booze hound. It's kinda nice."

Zack frowned.

"Don't worry about it Zack," Cloud said and gripped his hand. Zack turned his focus to the touch and smiled.

"I'm more worried about your injuries," Zack said looking back up at his face and all he could see was the horrible bruise. He touched it gingerly and Cloud moved his face away with a small whimper. "They're not minor injuries."

Cloud gave a little sigh and a small smile. "You'll have to help me with the shirt. My shoulder movements are pretty limited right now."

"Your shoulder?" Zack said as he looked at the sling again. "What happened there?"

"Got thrown and it got pulled out of its socket. They put it back in," Cloud said. "Ow."

Zack was already removing he sling and touching his shoulder tenderly. He wanted to know how bad it was. He tugged on the bottom of Cloud's shirt and removed it for him and he first looked at the shoulder. It didn't look bad, a little swollen and would be stiff for a few days. He remembered how much that hurt. He leaned in and kissed the shoulder and looked back at Cloud's eyes.

"See, not that bad," Cloud said in a whisper and his eyes even smiled at him. "The pizza is most likely cold already. We're going to have to heat it up," Cloud looked towards the kitchen. "I just got Pepperoni and extra-cheese."

"Sounds good," Zack said and his stomach rumbled in appreciation for the food.

Cloud gave a small laugh. "That is why I brought it. I didn't want your stomach to interrupt."

"How thoughtful," Zack said. "I'll bring it here. You stay there and don't strain yourself."

~ _yet~_

Zack stood and walked to the kitchen and brought the two boxes back. He was able to see the three bandages on Cloud's upper shoulders on his return. One of the bandages was showing signs of blood seeping through.

He must have made a gasp. "It doesn't hurt that much," Cloud said. Zack walked around and placed the boxes on the table and quickly handed a piece to the shirtless man and grabbed a piece for himself.

"Any other injuries?" Zack asked and took another bite. It was a little cold, but pizza was good no matter what the temperature. He could have heated it up, but that meant that he would have to be in the kitchen and not in his living room. He let his eyes wander over the blond and wondered if he was hiding other injuries. He hoped that he wasn't.

"No," Cloud said with a mouthful of cold pizza. "I brought over some of the presents that were left for me."

"Presents?" he asked.

"Damn lemonade. Just looking at the boxes make me ill," Cloud shook his head and smiled. "Captain Bard told me to get rid of the liquor. I have a whole storage locker of it. Everyone is saying that I have to stay in practice." Cloud was smiling as he spoke.

"Wow, so everyone does know. You're enjoying the attention, huh?" Zack said and grabbed for another piece. Running around for 8 hour chasing loose stinking monsters in the lab was hungry work.

Cloud looked right at him, "Kinda like this attention better." And then he blushed, flicking his eyes up, trying to see what kind of reaction he was getting.

Zack smiled widely at him. How could he not. How could he say something so bold and then blush right after that. It was so damn sexy!

Zack reached over and placed a hand on his leg and gave it a squeeze. Cloud made a small noise. He frowned. Was he hiding a leg injury as well?

~ _idiot! You are turning him on! ~_

But he was injured. He was burnt, bruised and battered. Cloud was hurting and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

~ _kiss and make it all better_ ~

"Zack?"

He looked at Cloud. He was giving him a concerned look.

"You're looking at me funny," Cloud said. He was holding another piece of pizza but he wasn't eating it.

"Am I?" Zack said. "I was thinking about what you had to do to make it up to me." He spoke it before he could stop himself. That was supposed to be the voice inside his head.

"Make it… oh…right," Cloud said and tried to hide a smile. He also made an attempt to shrug his shoulders causing him to hiss in pain.

"We don't have to tonight," he quickly added. "You need to heal up first."

 _~especially for what I have in mind for you~_

Cloud ate some more pizza and was giving him a look that made his heart skip. "There is still stuff…you…we…" Cloud coughed on his pizza and flushed a bright red and looked away from him. "Man." He finally said.

"What are trying to say, Cloud?" Zack said purposely lowering his voice. He could see Cloud flushing and looking embarrassed. He liked this side of Cloud. He knew how easy it was to start an argument with him.

Cloud licked his lips in that utterly delightful way of his. The way that he had no idea was so adorable, Zack was sure. It looked like he was trying to say something but the words were caught in his throat.

~ _don't call him cute!~_

He wanted to. He knew that Cloud hated that, but he was damn cute the way his cheeks blushed like that and how he was so damn…well...cute.

Cloud discarded his half piece of pizza and reached his over and touched his bare leg. "I'm not that hurt," Cloud whispered as his hand moved up and down his thigh, touching and tugging at his boxers. Damn, his touch was causing his whole body to tingle.

~ _you forgot something~_

He felt his heart sink. Yeah. He forgot something very important.

~ _you are a complete idiot~_

"Man. I didn't get to the store," Zack said as the hand continued to move on his thigh. He looked at Cloud who was looking at him through his spiky yellow hair with those brilliant blue eyes that was…

~ _pure sex~_

…utterly adorable.

"Um," he said and licked his lips slightly. His eyes focused on his leg and his boxers. It was hard to hide the fact that Cloud was causing him to

… _become aroused…_

…become uncomfortable.

"Cloud?" He whispered.

"I have to make it up to you, right?" Cloud whispered. "I…I can do that much," he said and Cloud's hand moved on this thigh.

"I can wait," Zack said.

~ _yeah right, you may need to take another shower~_

Cloud's hand was playing with the hem of his boxers.

~ _won't be able to hold back if he keeps doing that~_

Cloud leaned in for a kiss and he accepted the lips greedily.

~ _especially if he keeps doing that~_

Cloud's hand rubbed his inner thigh, like how he did on the train, but it was so much more. There was more control in his hands and it was amazing.

"Cloud," he murmured against his lips. "You shouldn't excite yourself."

~ _or me like this~_

Cloud made a noncommittal type sound and kept kissing him, become more aggressive with his tongue and Zack was forced to retaliate. He was getting so wound up and he didn't have any supplies and Cloud was injured.

~ _you have all the luck with this one~_

It was going to be another long night.

He didn't stop Cloud's hand. He should have…

~ _you couldn't do it on the train, you can't do it now~_

…stopped the hand but it felt so good. Cloud leaned into him and placed his leg between his. Before he could stop the movement, he saw the most wondrous and …

~ _yummy~_

…sight in the world!

Cloud moved so that he was kneeling between his legs and had spread his legs open so he could lean into him.

"Ah," was all that his feeble mouth was able to say. Cloud's good hand had already hooked on his boxers.

"Have to return the favour," Cloud said leaning forward and breathed against his belly.

He couldn't think anymore with him between his legs and his mouth so close to him. Zack brain was frozen. All he could do was stare at the blue eyes that were sparkling up at him, and Cloud licked his lips.

~ _gonna have to buy him some_ _C_ _hap_ _S_ _tick if he keeps licking his lips that way ~_

No words would come out as he looked down at Cloud.

Cloud's hand pulled on his boxers and tugged hard. He lifted his hips to ensure that Cloud could push down his boxers. Cloud's hand pushed on his hip, once he was exposed and he breathed against him.

~ _Shiva~_

He stared as the slightly parted lips so close to him. Breathing on him and causing his whole body to shiver at the thought and those eyes…

~ _teasing him~_

…looking at him with the most amazing glimmer, despite the one red rimmed injured eye. He wanted to say something but all he did was groan. Cloud chuckled at that and it seemed to come from deep in his throat. He felt so exposed with Cloud looking up at him, his left hand massaging his thigh and moving up to his hip bone.

He was finally was able to get a word out of his mouth, "Cloud."

"Hmmm," Cloud hummed and his tongue darted out form his lips and …

~ _Odin~_

… that tongue ran over the head of his penis before that silken tongue darted back into his mouth. All he could do was gasp. He felt his hips buck involuntarily but only hitting air as Cloud leaned back slightly with another humming sound.

"Damn tease," he muttered.

"I thought you liked that," Cloud murmured.

Zack was about to respond about how he didn't want to take another shower because of him being such a tease, but Cloud decided to stop teasing.

He gasped as that warm mouth consumed him. He bucked his hips only to have them pushed back down by Cloud's strong hand. Cloud made a humming noise with his mouth that caused a sensation to ripple through his whole body and caused his spine to tingle and his stomach to clench in the most pleasurable way. He brought one hand to touch the hair of the man that applying gentle suction to him. He gripped his other hand tightly against the back of the couch.

~ _Bahamut~_

Then Cloud's head started to move up and down. He tried to move with the mouth but that hand held him firmly pressed into the couch. He let his fingers run through the blonde hair and refrained from wanting to push him deeper into his throat. It was good!

~ _Best! Blow job! Ever!~_

Then the tongue in that mouth started to move.

~ _Sweet Gaia!~_

How did he get his tongue to do that? It seemed to be stroking the tip of him while the rest of his mouth moved up and down on him. Zack didn't think it was even possible, but he wasn't going to stop Cloud.

He groaned and threw his head back. Every time he tried to thrust forward, Cloud pressed against his hip to keep him still and even dug in his nails into his hip. Hell, that even felt good.

"Cloud!" He whimpered. He couldn't get a stronger voice than a whimper. He looked down again and found that he was gripping Cloud's hair tightly and had to force his fingers to loosen.

He shuddered as Cloud took him all in to his mouth. Cloud's hand moved from his hip and squeezed his tight balls.

~ _Titan's balls!~_

"Damn it!" He grunted through clenched teeth and throwing his head back. Those fingers dancing and squeezing him was sending thrilling chills through his whole body. He wasn't going to last much longer against the skilled mouth of the young man kneeling between his legs.

He thrust himself forward and Cloud made a small grunt but didn't stop his motions. He felt his stomach tighten and he tried to control his hips, but he just wanted to take Cloud's…

~ _in every way possible~_

…glorious mouth even harder.

With a warning grunt, he couldn't hold back any longer the tension in his belly reached a fevered pitch that he couldn't hold back as he came.

It seemed to last forever.

Cloud's hand squeezed his balls tighter which seemed to make it all the more divine and explosive.

He felt Cloud's mouth still holding him as he softened and as he tried to get some air in his lungs. Just like how he did to him the other night. Zack looked down at him as Cloud lifted his head wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

They stared at each other for awhile. Cloud was stroking his hip in a gentle manner and then rested his uninjured cheek against his bare thigh.

~ _utterly adorable~_

"Come here," Zack finally was able to speak. He reached down and pulled on his arm. Cloud responded and pushed himself up. Cloud moved to sit beside him, but Zack was not going to allow that. He positioned Cloud so that he was on his lap, with his uninjured shoulder resting against his own. He tilted his head so that he could kiss the injured infantry man who moaned against the kiss. He wrapped one arm tightly around his waist and the other pressing tightly onto his thighs, pulling him as close to him as possible.

"Better," Cloud muttered. "Did I make it up to you?"

"Hmm," Zack hummed. "Indeed. It was worth the wait."

Cloud sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Hmm," Zack said and went in for another kiss. The hand that he had held the still clothed thigh, moved to the button on his fatigues. He was very aware that Cloud was still very much aroused. "Shut up with the sorry crap," he said breathlessly against the panting lips and unbuttoned the pants with his one hand and undid the zipper. "Nothing to be sorry about," Zack said slipping his hand into Cloud's pants and kissed back the gasp that came to Cloud's mouth.

He massaged the bulge through the underwear and could feel a wet spot growing there as Cloud wiggled on his lap.

Cloud started to moan.

~ _beautiful sounds~_

Zack squeezed the waist and kissed the throat that was exposed. His actions treated him to another wondrous moan escaping those lips and his hips wiggling on his lap further. He kept massaging the stiffness beneath the cotton and kissing the wonderfully flushed skin on his throat.

"Aaah," Cloud murmured and thrust his hips on his lap and then he made a small whimper and hissed with pain.

"Let me take care of it," Zack whispered in his ear. "Don't strain yourself."

"I'm okay," Cloud whispered as his voice hitched a bit. Zack felt the man shudder in his lap. "Don't stop," his voice uneven and breathy.

Zack smiled and continued, making sure his grip was firm around his waist and kissing that exposed throat again. He increased the pace of his hand and squeezed a little harder.

"You're teasing," Cloud gasped.

"Mmh," Zack said against the collar bone that he was currently kissing.

Cloud wiggled in his lap further. Cloud kept making such wonderful sounds that were getting him excited again. Zack wiggled his hand into his underwear so that he could feel the over excited shaft in his hand. He was rewarded as Cloud gave out a sharp excited noise that was almost between pain and pleasure, but it sure sounded good. It also told him that he wasn't going to last long.

"Come on, Cloud," he moaned, his own voice not being that strong as he squeezed and tugged on the rigid member, rubbing his thumb over his round and moist tip.

~ _if only he wasn't injured, think of all you could do to him~_

He sometimes really hated his inner voice. He was going to get all excited again. Of course, a wiggling erotically moaning Cloud…

~ _had everything to do with it~_

…wasn't helping the situation at all.

Cloud pressed his head against his shoulder and he could feel the short panting breaths against his throat. He murmured into the soft yellow hair that was against his cheek. "Cloud," in a simple whisper, "Come."

That seemed to push Cloud over the edge. Cloud shuddered against him and spattered against his own stomach and Zack slowing hand. Cloud's whole body curling into him with a whimpering moan.

~ _that was good~_

Cloud's breathing calmed and his arm wrapped around him in a comfortable hug, his head still resting comfortably on his shoulder.

Zack enjoyed the position for awhile, feeling more relaxed than he had in ages.

Cloud's breathing became slow and regular.

Zack made a small frown at how relaxed Cloud was on his lap.

He removed his hand from Cloud's member. Cloud didn't protest. Zack then poked Cloud's side. Cloud twisted, hissed and cursed when he did that. Zack had to hug him tight to keep him from jumping off of him.

Cloud frowned at him. "Why did you do that?" He protested and gave him a frown as he winced.

"Don't want you to make it a habit of falling asleep on me," Zack said with a smile.

Cloud gave him a pout and rested his head against his shoulder. "Jerk," he whispered but Zack felt him kissing his neck again.

"Just want to make sure," Zack said and reached up and ran his hand through the wonderfully soft hair.

"Still a jerk," Cloud muttered but there was no venom in his voice.

"That is what you get for being a tease," Zack said and received a grunt and a kiss in response.

~ _next time you will be prepared and he won't be injured~_

Zack was grateful that Cloud couldn't see his wolfish grin that was surely all over his face.

* * *

Smutty? Yes? I know. I know you all wanted much more but I injured Cloud to make this difficult. Zack really need to get to a store and there has to be preparation for that date at Monteno's.

So, now that you have read it, review it, comment on it...

...there is still more to come.


	14. Shops

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…  
Very Reno- ific here and Zack makes it to a store –Finally!

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. I won't ruin the surprise right now.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **SHOPS**

* * *

"What!" Everyone in the room turned and looked at him. He didn't care though. He crinkled the assignment sheet in his hand and saw red. Damn it, why did this have to happen to him?

"Is there a problem with your assignment, Reno?" Tseng said in a cool voice as his dark eyes fixed on him. A couple of people snickered at him, Rude just shook his head and he was pretty sure that Sissy was pulling out her phone.

He was going to have to find a way to disable her text feature.

~ _maybe break her fingers~_

"No, sir," he said and slunk in his chair.

~ _big problem~_

He scowled at the sheet of paper that was crumpled his hand. This was some sort of cruel joke of fate for this to happen to him.

Tseng continued to talk to the other Turks in the room in his low calm voice, but he wasn't listening any more.

~ _waste of fucking time~_

Reno scowled at the piece of paper and glared at his boss. He knew that they were going to have words after this meeting. This was garbage! He didn't want to do this.

 _~on Saturday of all nights ~_

Tseng was talking about some cooperation with some SOLDIERs and blah, blah, blah, something, something, something and boring, boring, boring!

~ _and I get stuck with this~_

"Dismissed," Tseng's voice finally said. He stood but Tseng pointed to him. "Sit."

~ _I don't like this trend of being treated like a mutt~_

But he obeyed and sat back down as the other Turks left the conference room. He sat back in chair and placed his shoes on the table. He doubted that he could get in to anymore trouble from his outburst. He looked at the paper in his hand.

"Explain your outburst," Tseng said simply with a frown. Reno smirked. He knew how much his boss hated when he was so casual about things, especially when it came to being in the office. "I believe this type of assignment that you enjoy." Tseng walked beside him.

"What? Being a useless bodyguard?" He snorted and crinkled the paper further. "We are not needed for this, yo."

Tseng grunted. "I agree with your assessment," he said.

~ _Tseng. Agreeing with me? Is he sick or something?~_

Tseng continued. "Rufus wants to put a show on for this troupe. I guess he is quite fond of the lead dancer. He wants to make a strong impression on them."

"Pfft," Reno said. "He has Sephiroth joining them. Why does he need to have two Turks guarding him to get a girl into his bed?"

"This is the way it will be," Tseng said. "You know Monteno's better than any of the other Turks. You know the staff. You know the location. You will know if there are any threats. Plus, Rufus requested that you be assigned to this."

~G _reat. Personal request for an appearance. I should start to charge people. ~_

"Wonderful," he mumbled.

"I know you already had plans," Tseng said, "but I need you there."

"Wonderful," he repeated.

"I will be escorting the dance troupe to the restaurant. You will be escorting Rufus there," Tseng said simply. "And you will not be sloppily dressed for the occasion."

"What's wrong with this?" Reno said with a grin. He knew it got Tseng's ire up the way he dressed.

Tseng gave him a little sigh and rubbed that red dot on his forehead, as if he was developing a headache. He made him do that a lot. It was a point of pride actually. "I have already made arrangements for you to pick up a properly pressed suit at Lore's. You will wear it WITH the tie."

~ _Wonderful. Icing on the cake. ~_

Tseng dark eyes looked down at him. Reno wished he could read those dark eyes of his. "Understand, Reno!" Tseng voice said. "You can try to get your drinking title back from that young man on another weekend."

He just grunted. How could he tell his boss that he didn't want to go because the room he booked was for two other guys that he had apparently set up? They would be eating together in an expensive restaurant…

~ _that I am paying for~_

… in a room down from where was standing listening to some boring conversation with Rufus, Sephiroth and some dancer queen.

"The suit will be ready for you to pick up at four," Tseng said, "Pick up mine as well."

"What the hell? When did I become your slave?" Reno blurted as Tseng passed him another piece of paper. It was a clothing ticket.

Tseng gave him an amused smile, turned his back to him and left the conference room.

"What the fuck!"

* * *

Reno scowled as he arrived at Lore's with the stupid clothing ticket in his hand.

~ _Now I am fetching. Zack's had the puppy nickname. When the hell did this happen to me? ~_

He drove to the damn store. Picking up his own and boss' suit was humiliating enough and even more humiliating knowing that the store would deliver to ShinRa offices and had delivered to Tseng before too.

Rude had offered to come with him but he had way too smug of a look on his face. Rude was way too amused by his misery, so he had brushed him off.

He walked by the store window and saw a shocking…

~ _delightful~_

… sight.

He was not expecting to see the three infantry men in the store and least of all one of them Cloud.

~ _hot damn~_

It totally made up for becoming an errand boy.

He ignored the other two boys, especially the one with the blue hair and makeup. Was that even allowed in the army? He had seen the guy bouncing around before, but he had not been aware that he was one of Cloud's friends.

He focused on Cloud.

The blue haired guy was fussing between the collar and the cuffs of a sky blue shirt that Cloud was wearing.

~ _blue is his color~_

It wasn't the ShinRa army blue; it was beautiful soft blue that seemed to make Cloud's eyes seem as if they glowed from mako, like the SOLDIER he wanted to become.

He was wearing a dark brown pair of pants that were little low on his hips, hugged his thighs, and flared slightly at his ankles, so they almost hid the ugly army boots that he wore on his feet.

~ _those pants are sooooooooo tight~_

He whistled and was thankful that he was not in the store, even though someone walking by gave him a strange look. He just glared at the guy and went back to looking at Cloud.

~ _peeping tom~_

He watched as the guy with the long blue haired kid flitted around Cloud only to get punched, and all three of them laughed.

Cloud looked at the price tag on the shirt and frowned.

He wished he could hear the conversation of what was going on. Cloud was shaking his head and had to push the blue haired one away again, turned on his heel and went into a change room.

He watched as those two sorted through clothes as they waited for Cloud to walk out of the change room. The one with the blue hair was quite clingy and kept getting hit by the one with the extremely short black hair.

Cloud exited the change room and he was back in normal boring military casual clothes. He put the tight brown pants and blue shirt on a rack.

The two guys were talking to him and Cloud kept shaking his head. Then he realized that they were leaving the store. He was thankful that there were plants for him to hide behind. He did not want Cloud to see him. He hid behind the plants that allowed him to still view Cloud.

~ _turning into a stalker~_

"…worth the cost!" The blue haired man said as they walked outside.

"Shut up! I don't have the money for that!" Cloud said. "That shirt was just 100 gil! I don't have that much money."

"But you looked so hot in it," the blue haired man said with a whine. "Whoever your new sugar-daddy is would give you anything you wanted in that shirt!"

~ _sugar-daddy?~_

 _"_ Quit being a jerk, Joseph," the one with the short black hair said.

Cloud groaned and blushed.

"You need to look debonair to go to Monteno's," Joseph said and pounced on to the shoulders of Cloud. Cloud shrugged him off. It seemed that Cloud was used to the boy's behaviour.

"Guys," there was a small whine in his voice.

"You can get those simple black pants and white shirt from Genes," the dark haired man said.

"Pft, he will look like a Turk in that outfit, John," Joseph said with a whiny tone to his voice. Joseph then proceeded to cling to the one named John.

"He'll look fine!" John said.

"I don't have a sugar-daddy," Cloud sighed.

"Oh, whatever, sugar-daddy, sugar-mama, whatever," Joseph said. "I mean, you are going to Monteno's. You need quite a bit of dough and connections to get in there."

"Quit it," Cloud said.

"Then tell us who it is!" Jospeh said. If it was possible, there was even more whining in his tone. They stopped walking, which was good, because he wouldn't have any place to hide if they kept walking.

~ _eavesdropper~_

"Yeah!" The one named John said. "You snuck off on Monday night, you have switched 2 night patrol shifts to get Saturday off and you have brushed off your training sessions with Zack. Who ever it is, the person must be hot."

"Soooo, you need to look hot!" Joseph said and put his hands on Cloud's shoulders again and bounced around him.

~ _annoying ditz~_

 _"_ I know. I know!" Cloud said and shook his head and they started to walk away. "Maybe I can borrow…"

Reno frowned as the group walked out of earshot. He had never thought that Cloud would not have a set of nice clothes before. He was used to seeing Cloud in his usual casual clothes..

~ _which he looks good in~_

…or the military uniform. He kept those meagre clothes in good shape and they fit him well.

He walked into the store and looked at clothing ticket that Tseng gave him. He smirked as he looked at it. Tseng didn't sign it.

He should know better than to leave him a blank cheque.

* * *

Zack wondered if he bought too much stuff.

~ _or maybe not enough~_

He rubbed his forehead as he looked at the bag he was carrying back to his room. He had been so nervous in the store. He had just planned on going down to the drugstore and grab the basics but the last couple of days his dreams had been giving him way too many ideas, so he went to…

 _…Loveless_   
_D_   
_elights…_

 _…_ the other store. The other store had given him way too many ideas for all the things that he wanted to do Cloud.

The fleeting glimpse of Cloud was enough to make him almost want to cancel the date completely and just drag him back to his room and ravish him. He had cancelled their training sessions. He couldn't after all have Cloud hurting his shoulder anymore. He regretted it now though. They didn't need to use it to train after all, they could have…

~ _had some heavy make-out sessions~_

…done other things.

Cloud had been his friend for months and now they had more than a friendship. He realized that he had been almost seeing him every day in one way or another; passing him in the hall, seeing him in the mess hall, the bi-weekly extra training sessions, their Saturday night either on the town, or playing cards in the quad. He had seen Cloud almost every day!

How did he not realize that it could be construed that they were dating to begin with! He would always give him a wave or a pat on the back.

~ _now you have to refrain from patting his butt~_

He didn't even realize that he had been so smitten with the boy until he…

~ _teased you on the train~_

…they were getting serious.

He missed him, even though it had only been a few days, and was now getting extremely impatient. He had to wait one more whole day for their first official date and to use some of the…

~ _heavy~_

…bag of goodies on him.

The elevator dinged. 32nd floor. The door opened and Sephiroth got in. He suppressed a frown. Sephiroth had been acting weird lately and didn't want to get drawn into another conversation that didn't make any sense. He wondered if he had been down in the labs and have sniffed something wrong.

"Zack," Sephiroth said.

"Sephiroth," he said with a smile as the large man pressed a button to go to the upper most floors.

"Been shopping?" Sephiroth said and his green eyes were focused on the bag in his hand.

Zack was thankful that the store just had a discreet black paper bag. He was not ready to answer those types of questions from Sephiroth. Of course, his mouth was ahead of his brain sometimes, "Got a date on Saturday."

~ _why the hell would you tell him that?~_

Sephiroth raised his eyebrow at him and his green eyes looked him up and down. "Who is the lucky girl? Is it the one from the slums that you mentioned before?" He asked. He turned slightly towards him.

~ _you brought it up, you dolt!~_

"Well, no," he said and paused and gave a small chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. He couldn't look at Sephiroth with thoughts of Cloud in his head. Thankfully, Sephiroth didn't wait for a proper answer.

"Where are you taking your lucky date?" Sephiorth asked.

~ _when did he start to care about his personal life_ _?~_

"Monteno's."

~ _stupid mouth~_

"How did _you_ get a reservation there?" Sephiroth said with a smirk. He had such a warped sense of humour!

"Hey, I got connections too, you know," Zack said glaring directly at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth smirked, not quite a smile, "I am sure that you do. I have an engagement there on Saturday as well."

"Oh, yeah. Heard about that," Zack smiled brightly then. He was so glad that he was not a figure-head like Sephiroth. "Being forced to sit through a dinner with a bunch of artsy fruits and Rufus. Sounds like a riot." He didn't bother to hide his sarcastic tone with that comment.

Sephiroth frowned. "Yes. It is a part of this job I loathe," he said in a low tone. "I am sure, if you succeed at your upcoming mission, they will be requesting you for such menial tasks."

"Gaia forbid," Zack responded. Sephiroth was definitely developing a twisted sense of humour.

The elevator dinged and opened. He had never been so thankful to get out of an elevator in his life.

"Zack," Sephiroth said, holding his hand out to keep the door open. He turned to look at the General. "I am to arrive at Monteno's at six. What time is your arrival expected?"

 _~what?~_

"Seven," Zack said. His mouth was running ahead way too quick lately.

"Then we can take my transport together," Sephiroth said and allowed the elevator door to close.

Zack stared at the closed elevator door for a moment. Sephiroth was acting so weird lately and this was just the icing on the cake.

~ _just hope he doesn't want to travel home with you too ~_

* * *

Well, yet another chapter…  
Thanks so much Ziggy for correcting my silly cold induced mistakes.  
Zack finally got to the store, now you will have to wait to see what is in the bag…(smirk)

Well, let me know if you like it! Those multitudes of review are most invigorating.  
I know that I am teasing….(insert evil laugh here)…stay tuned to see what twists I throw into the midst of these two...


	15. Clothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…  
The start of a Saturday night…a fashion filled chapter…hot men in hot clothes…damn it; I am _such_ a pathetic fangirl…  
Reno POV, Zack POV, a little bit of Sephiroth POV, more Reno's POV and more Zack's POV…hopefully it is not to jumpy.

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.  
Also, made some changes in the previous chapters; minor grammar and such, but fixed none the less.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **CLOTHING**

* * *

Reno grinned as he admired the suit he was wearing in the limo window. Tseng would not be pleased, but it would teach him a lesson for sending him to get clothes. He would not approve the cut or color, or the fact that he changed the order and had added things to it.

He was going to be right pissed.

~ _I bet he's developing a headache right now~_

The suit was a dark red pinstripe suit. The jacket, when buttoned hugged his thin waist. The pants were straight and he even wore a new pair of patent leather shoes that were soft and comfortable. He wore an even snugger vest over a stark white shirt and he wore a same color tie as the suit. The EMR didn't go well with the suit, so he had two guns strapped under his jacket. It was cut well.

He knew that he looked hot.

 _~smoking hot~_

Better than the stupid blue that Tseng had originally wanted him to wear. There had been no style in the clothes that he had picked out. He smiled at the thought of what Tseng would think when he opened up his clothing bag. He knew that he would be paying a heavy price for that, but he didn't care.

~ _it was so worth it~_

He even tamed down his hair and left his goggles at home for the occasion.

He waited at the limo door for Rufus to come down so he could escort him to the restaurant. He lit a cigarette; he knew it would be awhile before he would get another one. He hoped that Rufus was not going to be fashionably late. That would be just annoying to make a grand entrance.

~ _in all ShinRa pompous style~_

Rufus finally emerged through the door.

Reno smiled at how the brat was dressed. He always wore a white suit. That was his trademark after all. He was wearing a different cut than his normal white suit; it was more form fitting, with a flash of bright red with his ascot at his throat. The jacket was shorter that showed his narrow hips a little more prominently than he usually wore, with a thick white belt. The pants flared to hide the white leather boots with a slight heel that he was wearing.

~ _brat's hot~_

Reno shook his head. Man. He needed to get laid if he was thinking of the ShinRa brat like that. He blamed Cloud and Zack for turning him to the dark side of these…

~ _sexual~_

… thoughts.

Rufus ran his hand through his ash blond hair and shook his head at him. "I presume that is not the suit that Tseng designated for you to wear." He had an amused look on his face.

"Nope, but it's hotter than what that fuddy-duddy picked out," Reno grinned.

Rufus gave a low, amused laugh. "I do agree," Rufus said and crossed his arms. With a sigh, "Are you going to open the door?"

Reno flushed. "Yeah. Yeah, sorry," he said and opened the door and watched as he elegantly slid into the white leather seats of the limo. Reno walked around to the other side and seated himself across from him. He tapped the window and the limo started.

Rufus was sitting with his legs crossed, with his elbow on his knee, holding his chin in his hand. He seemed like he was lost in thought as he looked out the tinted window.

"Hey, boss," Reno asked as he fiddled with the hem of his red jacket. "So, you hot on this dancer, hey?"

Rufus turned his lazy grey eyes towards him, "Hmmm."

~ _what kind of a response i_ _s_ _that?~_

"Saw the posters. Hot, yo," Reno said as he reclined against the limo seats. Riding in style was one of the perks of this job. He was pretty sure he would be taking a stinking cab home if Rufus got his dancing queen.

"Hmmm," Rufus said again and straightened himself out. "Indeed."

~ _boring stick in the mud~_

"So, you got intentions for tonight?" Reno said. "I mean, I need to know who I will be escorting back home and all."

Rufus gave him a sharp look, but with a sigh he said, "We shall have to see what shall come of the evening. I am sure they are used to people praising their performance."

"Yeah, but you are Rufus ShinRa," Reno said. "You are like, at the head of the food chain and all."

Rufus laughed lightly.

~ _a bedroom laugh~_

"I suppose," Rufus said, "But that does not guarantee that he will be interested in joining me for a late evening nightcap."

~ _he?~_

What the hell? He didn't know that Rufus swung that way.

"Have you seen the ballet?" Rufus asked.

"Only what they had on TV," he said. He was now frantically trying to remember what the lead male dancer looked like. He had focused on the near anorexic woman that was the lead female dancer. He tried to remember the male. He remembered him being sharp and bony looking.

"That does not do them justice. They are most magnificent to see on stage," Rufus said as he uncrossed his legs and leaned back in the plush limo seats. He closed his eyes and had a small smile on his lips. "It is one of the luxuries that my father allows."

Reno nodded. Rufus, even though being the vice-president, was held on a pretty tight leash by his father. He was seldom on guard duty for Rufus. Tseng thought he would be a bad influence. Once he thought of that, didn't Tseng say that Rufus requested him to be his escort for this?

"They put on a wonderful show, and even did an additional set, in my honour. It was quite lovely." Rufus readjusted his legs so they were crossed the other way and was now looking straight at him. "He has the most magnificent legs." Those eyes slowly blinked and seemed to be checking him out. Was he imagining that?

~ _holy crap~_

"I believe they even surpass yours," Rufus said with a small smile. Definitely not imagining that!

~ _brat is hitting on me! ~_

How does one respond to that? He felt his face heat up slightly and he swallowed. His teasing nature took over though and he found himself stretching his legs a little bit longer, glad that the new red suit was snug against his legs. "Are you sure about that, yo?"

~ _shouldn't be teasing the brat~_

Rufus' smile grew slightly wider. "Well, I will hopefully be able to determine that tonight." He then, gracefully, went back to staring out the car window, with his chin resting in his hand, contemplating the landscape they were driving by.

Reno sat a little straighter and adjusted his jacket, made sure his guns were still holstered properly. He tried to get the flush off his cheeks, and the thoughts about brat ShinRa out of his head.

~ _you are going to turn into a flaming homo if you keep thinking about guys like that~_

* * *

Zack opened the door opened to see Sephiroth standing there. He was not used to seeing the General dressed in anything but his leather uniform, but he had to admit that he looked good in a suit. It was black of course. It was a long jacket that nearly reached his knees and buttoned nearly to his graceful throat. You could see that high collar of a silvery grey shirt, pinned with an emerald green collar clip, with cufflinks, that matched his eyes. Even his shoes had a green stone in the soft leather penny loafers. Sephiroth's long silver hair swept back in a long soft looking wave over one of his shoulders. It dangled down, and was easily seen past his svelte waist

~ _Sephiroth always looks good~_

Sephiroth frowned at him. "You are not ready yet."

"Working on it," he said around his toothbrush. "A little behind schedule."

Sephiroth crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "I can see that."

Zack was very aware of how he looked. He still hadn't gotten his shirt on and was scrubbing his teeth. He still had to finish his hair and get the rest of his clothes on. He should have known that Sephiroth would be right on time. The guy was a stickler for schedules.

~ _you should have known he would be right on time~_

"I just need ten more minutes," he said as he scurried back into the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth. Sephiroth stepped into his apartment with a small sound that he wasn't sure if it was disdain or just because he was disturbed that he wasn't ready yet. He knew his place was much smaller than his place. Hell, Sephiorth had a place that was about four times as big as his. He had only seen his place once and that had been under stressful circumstances, so he didn't really get a good look.

He finished brushing his teeth and gave his face a scrub as well and then went into his bedroom and stopped cold.

~ _Sephiroth is in my bedroom~_

"You have picked horrible clothes to wear for tonight," Sephiroth said, simply not even turning to look at him as he was going through his closet.

~ _Sephiroth is going through my closet~_

"I will not have SOLDIERS looking like they cannot afford appropriate attire for such a fancy restaurant," Sephiroth said as he turned with some different clothes that he pulled out of the closet. "You will wear these. Those pants are far too military and the shirt you have on the bed should only be worn for casual. You are not going out to the bar."

He blinked as Sephiroth put the clothes on the bed. "Wear that leather jacket of yours over top of that. I will be expecting to leave in five." He turned on his heel and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

He blinked for a few seconds.

~ _was Sephiroth dressing him?~_

He looked at the clothes that his superior set out for him. He liked the pants that he was wearing; the ones that Sephiroth picked out were snug around his hips and were a charcoal grey in colour. The shirt was one that he liked though and it was a deep violet with a charcoal grey vest to wear over top of it. He frowned as he even saw that Sephiroth had picked out a pair of socks and shoes for him.

~ _When did Sephiroth get a fashion sense? ~_

He sighed and got dressed in the clothes that were picked out for him and had to admit that Sephiroth picked well. He fussed with his hair a bit, trying to make it not so wild, even knowing that it would fall back into the black spikes by the end of the evening.

~ _won't matter then~_

He smiled at looked over at the drawer where he had placed all of his recent purchases.

~ _can't wait to play…~_

"Zack!"

Sephiroth's sharp voice brought him out of his daydreams.

~ _gotta ditch Sephiroth as well~_

"Coming," he called and walked out of the room. "We aren't going to be late," Zack said as he looked at Sephiroth standing by the door, holding his leather jacket.

~ _how did Seph know where he kept all his stuff?~_

"Thanks," he said and threw the light leather jacket over his shoulders.

~ _can't wait to see Cloud ~_

 _  
_

* * *

_  
_

_~Fair indeed~_

Sephiroth couldn't help but look his 2nd in command as he shrugged on the leather jacket.

"Am I ready now?" Zack said with his voice thick with sarcasm.

Sephiroth reached out and fixed the flipped collar on the leather jacket, aware that the man beneath the jacket jumped a little. "I believe that we are now," he said simply and moved to the door.

He led the way to the elevator.

Zack's announcement of a date the other day startled him. It also annoyed him. It took him awhile to figure out the reasons for it. He did not normally care about the escapades of those under him. Why should he care? It was truly was no concern of his, but Zack…

~ _was more_ ~

…was his second in command. He did not mind the thought of the man dating that girl from the slums for she seemed meek and calmed him, but for the past week he had been actually quite distracted and he did not like that in him. The girl from the slums did not cause this type of distraction.

He had listened to the ' _water-cooler-talk'_ to try to discern if there was a new interest in his life but had found none. He had tried to talk to Zack but was amazed at his failure to get the right questions out of his mouth. He was also aware that Zack was trying to avoid him as well, most likely because of his failure to string together the correct words, which had turned him into a babbling fool. The biggest talk Zack was able to glean was about that red-headed pest losing a drinking contest to some lowly infantry man. It was interesting but it had no connection to Zack as far as he could determine.

He wanted to ask Zack about his date, but figured that it would be a waste of time. Plus, he would see soon enough who it was once they got to Monteno's.

He would find out why his second in command was so distracted soon enough without his muddled social skills getting in the way.

* * *

Reno had to remind himself to be cool when he saw Zack enter Monteno's and was a little shocked to see Sephiroth enter with him. Zack was looking quite hot in the outfit he was wearing and the large silly grin on his face. He said a few words to Sephiroth before he went to talk to the hostess. He didn't realize that Zack and Sephiroth were arriving together. He would have to ask Zack about that later.

Reno had already placed Rufus in the private room that they had specified and had the waiters already bustling with his expectations of wine and starters for his fancy dancers.

Seeing how Zack looked wanted to make him go into the private room that he had booked for him and…

~ _do what? Confess that you have the hots for him? ~_

Yeah, that was stupid.

~ _you wanna though~_

He watched as the cool and scary Sephiroth walked into the room without even a second glance in his direction. Zack was talking with one of the waiters. With a small wave to him and a wink, Zack went into the room as the attendant pulled back the screen.

He focused back on the door as it opened again.

He tried to suppress a smirk, but knew that he had not succeeded completely from the glare that Tseng was giving him.

Tseng looked sharp. He knew that it was different from his usual attire but Tseng looked damn sharp in the suit. He was not stupid enough to vary too far from his usual attire. He stuck with a dark navy blue double-breasted suit jacket that hung to hide the multitude of guns that he knew his boss like to wear but didn't detract from his wide shoulders. The shirt color was a nice pale pink with a dark blue tie. He knew that the pink shirt was most likely getting his ire up as the style was different from his normal. He knew that annoyed Tseng.

He noted that he was wearing the normal shoes and not the ones that he sent. Well, he couldn't win them all.

Tseng escorted two nearly emaciated looking people into the room. He recognized the girl with the long blond hair as the lead female dancer, Mina, and the young man, Drake, with dark brown hair that was tied back in a tight pony tail.

~ _Rufus had weird tastes in men~_

There was nothing to him. He was not as emaciated as the woman and did seem to have some muscle tone…

~ _decent legs and ass~_

 _…_ but his sharp bony features were a little disturbing. He liked to see a little bit more in a figure…

~ _more like a SOLDIER or a SOLDIER wannabe~_

 _…_ to grab a hold of.

Man. He had issues.

Tseng stood beside him. "I will deal with you tomorrow," Tseng hissed at him as he entered the room. Tseng's lips didn't move when he spoke.

~ _you are going to get crap assignments for a year~_

He smirked. Yeah. He knew he was going to be paying for it, big time, even more when Tseng saw the bill for all the extra stuff that he bought as well.

~ _going to be guarding the dump~_

* * *

His leg wouldn't stop vibrating. He had to reset the glasses on the table twice from his errantly bouncing knee.

~ _can't believe I am so eager~_

He was getting impatient waiting for Cloud. He had taken off his jacket and had it hanging over his chair. He almost phoned him a couple of times and kept staring at his watch. He wasn't late, but he just wanted to see him. He didn't want to seem too anxious either. He never remembered feeling this way about anyone else before.

~ _you are as pathetic as a teenager on your first date~_

He wondered how much Reno was going to pay for the evening. He looked at the menu and was astonished at the cost. Man, he hoped Reno could cover it.

The screen pulled aside.

He turned and saw Cloud being escorted in by the hostess.

~ _finally…wow…damn it~_

Where did he get those clothes? Man, he looked awesome. He hadn't seen Cloud wearing them before; the powder blue shirt hung loosely around him but still seemed to meld to his muscular shoulders and narrow waist. He couldn't help but gawk at how Cloud moved to the other chair and how his tight brown suede pants hugged…

~ _his ass~_

 _…_ his hips.

"You look good," Zack said as Cloud sat down. Cloud flushed lightly.

"So do you," Cloud said. "This place is fancy." He sounded a little bit nervous.

"Sure is," Zack said. "How much do think Reno can cover?" He said and leaned forward a bit.

Cloud laughed. "It shouldn't be a problem," he said as he fiddled with the menu. He looked like he was nervous as well. "He is a Turk after all; they make more money than SOLDIER."

Zack sighed, "Don't remind me." Zack adjusted his chair. "What do you want to start with?" He picked his own menu.

He had to refrain from moving his chair beside him and groping him under the table. This place was too classy for that no matter…

~ _how incredibly tempting~_

 _…_ how he wanted to touch him. He would be a proper civil person in the restaurant. He knew how to wine and dine, even though he knew that he already had the man sitting across from him…

~ _and would have in every possible way soon enough~_

…it didn't mean that he didn't deserve the special treatment.

He smiled brightly at the blond haired man as he was studying the menu. He would have to make sure to buy him more shirts in that color for him. It positively made his eyes glow.

* * *

Well… I dressed everyone in suits, but Cloud…but you all know that he is still hot…  
They do give some pretty images….nothing like a well cut suit on a well maintained body.  
Now we will have to see what happened during dinner…now won't we.

Thanks again to my Beta... Ziggy!


	16. Monteno's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…  
Cloud and Zack have their first official date…(thanks to Reno's paycheck)  
Cloud's POV, Reno POV, and Sephiroths POV? Wow… packing in those POV aren't I…

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.  
Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks….

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **MONTENO'S**

* * *

Cloud was no longer nervous about being in the fancy restaurant, and quite relaxed now. The couple of drinks helped, and the fact that Zack was more relaxed himself, as well. Zack's knee wasn't bouncing and shaking the table anymore.

Zack had already queried him on his injuries and he told him that he was feeling quite fine now. His shoulder had full range of movement and the bruise that was across his face was almost completely gone, thanks to materia practice where they were using some Cure. They weren't that efficient in the use of magic, but it sure helped.

~ _wanna be limber for later~_

The conversation was light, as it usually was, between them. The food was rich and good. Expensive too; Cloud was glad that Reno was paying for it.

He was beginning to feel like he had a few too many drinks, for he was starting to feel…giddy. What did Zack call them, Mojito's? He would have to remember that for next time they went out.

Zack smiled at him. "Are you going to start giggling on me?"

Cloud pouted. "I'm not that drunk," he said, even though he was feeling rather warm. He never wanted to get as drunk as he did last weekend, ever again. "You won't have to carry me back to your room."

Zack closed his eyes for a second and made a happy humming sound. He opened his violet eyes with an…

~ _smarmy~_

… evil smirk on his lips.

"Don't get any evil ideas," Cloud said and gave him a stern look that quickly faltered into a smile.

"I got plenty right now," Zack whispered and leaned across the table a bit, spearing a chocolate dusted piece of fruit that they had picked for dessert. He held it out to Cloud and Cloud obliged, leaning forward and took it off the fork, making sure that he licked his lips in the fashion that he had been practicing.

The shiver from Zack proved that he had done it correctly. He liked how his teasing affected him. Cloud speared another piece of fruit and offered it to Zack in the same manner. Zack leaned forward and took the fruit and made a small moan.

In a whisper, Cloud asked, "Did you make it to the store?"

He was pleased to see that he made Zack blush and try to stammer out the answer. "Y...yeah, I made it to the store," he said.

"What did you buy?" He asked.

Zack dropped the fork that he was using to try to get another piece of fruit, and his blush deepened.

~ _what kind of stuff did he buy? ~_

"I b-bought a bunch of stuff," Zack said, retrieving his fork and trying to set his eyes in a stern look.

"Stuff?" Cloud questioned. "Anything interesting?"

Cloud raised his blue eyes to those violet eyes. Zack's were wavering though, like he was trying to avoid the question, maybe even a little embarrassed.

~ _must be really interesting stuff ~_

"A few t-things," Zack whispered back.

"Uh-huh," Cloud said. "Like what?" He smirked at the thought that he was causing Zack to stammer like that.

Zack's eyes faltered then and darted to the side. "You'll have to wait and see until we get to my place," Zack said and leaned back in his chair. Zack had unbuttoned his vest earlier and could see the muscles bunching under the shirt. He wanted to touch…

~ _kiss and fondle~_

…him and his own body was reacting to how excited he was becoming with thoughts of how they would…

~ _make it officially, official, official~_

…spend the evening. He was pretty sure the couple of drinks were helping him along as well.

Zack changed the subject, "Where'd you get those clothes? I don't remember them."

Cloud smirked as he remembered the brown box that was left on his cot. "Secret admirer," he said. The note attached had only said to enjoy the new clothes and dinner. No signature. It could only be Zack that bought the clothes. After all, who else would do such a thing?

Zack frowned a bit. "Secret admirer?"

"Oh, come on Zack. I know you got them for me," Cloud said and leaned, smoothing the blue shirt against his chest. Cloud was amused by the possessive streak that he was seeing in Zack. "Who else could have done it?"

Zack blinked, and gave a deep sigh. "They do look good on you."

Cloud smiled brightly. He just had a wicked thought. He knew he wouldn't do it without a little bit of alcohol in his system. He knew it was a little…

~ _slutty~_

…bold of him. He leaned forward and crooked his finger to get Zack to lean forward as well, and in the huskiest whisper he could manage, he said, "I can't wait until you take them off."

That caused his face to rapidly flush. Zack abruptly stood.

"I think we are ready to leave," Zack said, his voice breaking a bit as he spoke. Cloud laughed lightly and stood himself.

Zack moved quickly and put his arm around Cloud's waist and then gave him a kiss. A quick one, before he pulled his lips away. "You shouldn't tease me in public."

"Nobody's watching in here," Cloud whispered back and gave him another kiss, then deliberately pulled away. He could feel how excited _his_ …

~ _most_ _definitely_ _his! ~_

…dark haired man was. He was pretty sure that he heard Zack growl slightly, and most likely was going to try something else, when the screen opened and a waiter entered. Zack quickly announced that they were going for the evening.

* * *

Reno didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse to be the one by the screen door. He could catch glimpses of the two…

~ _studs~_

…in the private room that he had set up for them. He was quite happy to see that Cloud was wearing the clothes that he had bought for him and they looked even better than they did when he…

~ _peeped~_

…observed him in the store window. Cloud seemed to know it too as Reno saw them flirting with each other across the small, private table.

They were more interesting than the room he was in anyway. Sephiroth was not exactly the best at conversation and it was mostly Rufus talking to the two dancers who were more than willing to talk about the performance and the next performance and the next dance move and the next challenge…blah, blah, blah.

He was pretty sure that Rufus really was into that conversation and both Drake and Mina seemed to be thrilled with the attention that…

~ _the brat~_

…Rufus was giving them. He had a feeling that Rufus was going to be disappointed. From where he was sitting, he could see how Drake was constantly touching that bony Mina's legs under the table. He doubted that Rufus saw it and he didn't want to burst his bubble. He would let Drake do that.

It did seem like Mina was interested in Sephiroth and she tried to have a conversation with him on occasion but Sephoroth's lack of personality did not deter her in the least. She did let Drake's touches deter her hands from wandering towards Sephiroth or Tseng.

~ _guess she is just keeping her options open~_

Of course, he was a little upset to see that Tseng was sitting at the table and he was the one that was standing like a stupid beacon. He had made the silly assumption that Tseng was going to be standing as a guard as well. Boy, was he wrong. He didn't know if he liked the idea of being tricked by his boss like that. He could see the pointed look that Tseng gave him from time to time.

He got to watch everyone eat the delicious food, while his stomach grumbled. He knew that he would eat well after, but it still was torture and he found the suit getting a little warm, and seeing glimpse of the two…

~ _hotties~_

…love birds in the other room was driving him absolutely nuts! Every now and then, he could hear one of them laugh or raise their voice. He wished he had the foresight to bug the room, so he could see what they were doing. Oh. He should have bugged Fair's apartment.

~ _that would be something to watch~_

He shook his head to get those thoughts out and frowned as he listened to Drake drawl on about how much he has to train in a day to do some fruity ballet move that Rufus seemed absolutely engrossed in hearing. He really didn't think his boss was into this kind of stuff. It seemed so strange.

Tseng tried to hide a smirk behind taking a sip of his drink, despite how his dark eyes showed amusement, as he looked at him.

Did Tseng know that this was torturing him? He was pretty sure Tseng knew that he was miserable, even if he didn't know the true reason why.

He heard the screen open to the room that…

~ _his two SOLDIERS_ ~

…the two were in and saw them step out. Man. They looked hot together. Zack gave him a look and there was fire in his eyes and it wasn't just the lust that he had for Cloud.

What the hell? He didn't do anything to piss him off? Did he?

~ _could be the clothes you snuck_ _S_ _piky? ~_

Cloud just smiled and walked towards the door with Zack following closely behind. Cloud looked like he was already in dream land and gave him a small, but very content smile.

~ _I would be content too, if I was going back with Zack. ~_

Man, he really had to get laid to get those two out of his head! Since that stupid kiss between the two, he could think about nothing else and it was getting annoying!

"Sir."

A familiar waiter came over to him with a bill to sign. Zack and Cloud's bill. He looked at the list of purchases and was grateful that they hadn't been all that expensive, but he wasn't going to let them know that.

* * *

Mina was an annoying woman. Sephiroth noticed that they ordered expensive food but ate very little of what was on their plates. They seemed to enjoy the drinking more. He tried to hide his revulsion at how Rufus was unashamedly flirting, and Sephiroth wasn't sure if it was with Drake or that Mina. He was as civil as he could be, even with the bony Mina pawing at his arm for most of the evening. She seemed to alternate between himself and Tseng, and thankfully, and Tseng seemed to be enjoying conversation with the irritating woman.

Drake was annoying as well.

Rufus was extremely annoying.

Tseng was being smug.

Reno was distracted.

He noted that Reno seemed to be very concerned with what was happening in the other private room across the hall. He kept his eye on what Reno was observing and was startled to see that was the room that Zack had his date.

~ _how could he get a private room? ~_

He had yet to see who Zack's date was, though. He was very curious to see who was tickling Zack's fancy.

Reno scowled or crinkled his nose when he heard laughter coming from the area. Once, he even heard Reno silently curse at the sounds. Sephiroth noted that he only seemed to hear masculine laughter coming from the room.

Zack said he had a date, so he must not just be hearing the female.

~ _there is_ _definitely_ _two men laughing in that room~_

He was forced to answer a question about his ranking and life as a SOLDIER to that bony looking Drake. He avoided sneering at how Rufus was looking at the two dancers. Sephiroth did not understand the thrill of dining with them. They were nothing but frail people that happen to be on stage. He had been forced to watch the play with President ShinRa and Scarlet. They were graceful, but that was all he could say about it. It was pointless flitting about on stage to some apparent story that he had no interest in.

~ _Genesis would have loved it~_

He frowned and pushed the thought aside. He did not need to bring up those painful memories.

~ _Genesis would be explaining all the plot holes and re-enacting it at the table~_

He took a drink of the awful wine that Rufus had picked to drown out the thoughts. He did not want to start pining over his lost friends. He had worked hard to get past that.

~ _past them leaving him~_

His only friendship now was Zack.

~ _who is on a date~_

He heard Reno shift from his position and observed that Zack was emerging from that other private room with…

~ _the boy who ignored me~_

…his date. He frowned as he watched how protective Zack seemed over the smiling blond who was walking ahead of him. Zack seemed to be scowling at Reno as he walked by.

He focused back on the painful dinner in front of him and took a couple of deep breaths. He knew this feeling and he hated it. He had no right to feel…

~ _jealousy~_

… for he had not laid claim to Zack. He did not want to lose the friendship that he had with him, and for that matter, he did not think that Zack was interested in other men. He only talked of girls.

~ _obviously something changed~_

Sephiroth heard Reno mutter under his breath about them being expensive as he signed something a waiter brought.

He had to find out who that young man that Zack was with, and it seemed that Reno knew.

* * *

Geez, I think I feel a little sorry for poor Sephiroth here. (and a little for Reno) Kind of a sad way to end the chapter, but I will remind you, that Zack and Cloud will be going back to his place… Hopefully … (insert preferred evil laugh here)…man, I am such a tease.

So…you enjoyed it right… then click the button and leave a little note to keep the author motivated.


	17. Cab

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TEASE

TEASE

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…  
Cloud and Zack have had their first official date… and now they have to get back to Zack's place. Mild Lemon in this chapter….*cringe* don't be too mad now.

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

…what is with the being threatened by weapons ! I'm writing here…

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement.

 **CAB**

Zack wished that he hadn't hitched a ride with Sephiroth to get to the restaurant. Not only would it have been an awkward situation, but now they had to hail a cab. He didn't think about that until halfway through the meal, and was thinking of ways they could get out of there quickly, and go back to his…

~ _bed~_

…apartment.

He really wished he had ridden his bike.

The thought of Cloud putting his arms around his waist and leaning against his back, or - even better - sitting snugly in front of him while they sped through the streets made him want to run and get his bike.

~ _hmmm, I wonder if I could steer the bike with one hand~_

He felt a sharp poke in his side.

"Ow! Hey!" Zack jumped.

Cloud gave him a suspicious look. "You were in la-la land. Are you going to hail a cab, or what?"

"The hostess called us one. It'll be here soon," Zack answered.

~ _not soon enough~_

Cloud made a little sighing noise and his eyes turned to the starless sky. "We could walk. It's nice out." If one could see the stars in Midgar, Zack would have been tempted.

~ _definitely_ _would not be soon enough then! ~_

 _"_ I would rather wait for the cab," Zack said, taking a step closer to Cloud as he lowered his voice into a husky whisper. "I've missed seeing you all week."

"Missed me?" Cloud said.

"Oh, yeah. Missed you," Zack said, and put his hand on Cloud's shoulder. He wanted to pull him into a quick embrace and kiss those lips again. The little taste he got in the restaurant was not nearly enough to satisfy him.

~ _you can get him to satisfy you as soon as you get home~_

 _"_ I had to change a few guard shifts to make sure I had tonight off," Cloud said. "I think it'll be worth the lack of seeing each other for a few days."

~ _most certainly~_

Zack smiled and examined Cloud standing at the curb looking down the road at the vehicles passing by. He had a determined look on his face.

He really couldn't wait until he could get those…

~ _strange~_

…clothes off of him.

"Ah," Zack said. "Here comes our ride." Zack wanted to ask some more questions about the clothing. Zack knew that Cloud had thought he had bought it for him. The question truly was: Who had bought them for him? Did Cloud have another suitor? Cloud had never indicated that he had any other love interests. Hell, he knew that Cloud had to have some experience. Zack knew from experience that people didn't stay _innocent_ in the barracks for long with all the aggression and hormones, even if you denied that you were gay. And then there was how wonderful Cloud's tongue had felt from that last time they were able to spend together.

~ _you_ _d_ _on't_ _just give great head without some practice~_

Of course, it wasn't something that they talked about. And how did the person know that he was going on a date…

~ _Reno~_

He would deal with Reno later. He did not want to think of Reno right now. He was going to focus on Cloud.

They slipped into the cab and he moved himself close to Cloud as he gave the driver the address. He absent mindedly put his arm behind Cloud's back and leaned into him as the car started to move.

"All I could think about was how you looked when you were kneeling before me," he whispered into Cloud's ear.

Cloud shivered, then turned to glare at him. "No teasing, Zack," Cloud whispered back.

"Why not?" Zack said, as he allowed his hand to roam up and down Cloud's spine.

~ _He's getting anxious ~_

There was more than enough evidence of Cloud getting excited in front of him. Cloud's brown suede pants were a little snug in the front and it did not hide the growing problem in his lap. Zack was glad that his own pants were a little loose there, so he could hide that problem.

~ _at least while_ _you_ _'_ _r_ _e_ _sitting~_

Cloud just glared at him.

Zack laughed.

"Stop it," Cloud said with a low annoyed tone, while nodding his head toward the driver. The driver was ignoring them.

"You didn't care when you were on the train," he stated.

"I was completely blitzed!"

"Yeah, I remember," Zack said and moved his hand into the back of Cloud's pants.

Cloud made a small squeaking sound. Cloud's face turned red and he tried to push Zack away. Zack was determined to kept his hand firmly in place.

~ _he's not wearing any underwear!~_

All he felt was skin and suede! How could Cloud be such a tease when Zack was the one trying to tease?

"You are not playing fair," he said simply as he pushed his hand further into those tight pants. Cloud flushed and wiggled in his seat.

"Neither are you!" Cloud said in a voice that was higher than normal, but tried to keep a cool look on his face. Cloud's hand moved to Zack's thigh, not as snug as the train ride, but still so warm and alluring.

"Well, it's still early," Zack said, near Cloud's ear. It took all this strength to nibble on Cloud's earlobe and see if he could get some of those enticing moans of his out of Cloud's mouth.

"Doesn't mean I want to finish early," Cloud said with a crooked smile.

~ _He's really going to be the death of me. ~_

"Are you sure you can handle staying up late?" he joked. "Hate to have you pass out on me again."

"Quit bringing that up! I made up for it!" Cloud snapped and squeezed Zack's leg.

Zack laughed. "Nope. You're never going to live that down!"

"I didn't mean to," Cloud whined slightly and leaned against him, his hand moving closer to Zack's groin.

Zack made a small groaning sound and smiled at the blond. Cloud's hand was making those gentle movements that were rather arousing.

~ _Pinky, ring, middle, index and the twirling thumb_ ~

They sat mostly in silence for the rest of the trip. Zack had wiggled his hand further into Cloud's pants, and Cloud's hand kept the slow steady…

~maddening~

…movements that were going to drive him over the edge. It was a silent battle that Zack felt like he was going to lose, if the cab didn't come to a stop.

"Twenty-four fifty," the driver said. Cloud opened the door.

Zack made a small grunting sound as he was forced to pull away from Cloud to reach into his back pocket to pull his wallet out.

~ _in the other pants~_

He patted his other cheek and groaned.

Sephiroth had made him change his pants, and in his rush he had left his wallet in them. He groaned at being such an idiot for leaving his wallet in the sitting in his discarded pair of pants.

"Why're you feeling yourself up?" Cloud asked with a small curious look that would have been funny if Zack hadn't forgotten his wallet.

"Um…Ah… Well," Zack stammered, "It looks like I, you know…I …forgot my wallet," Zack said, feeling like a complete idiot with both his hands covering his ass.

Cloud blinked at him and his brows furrowed in confusion. "How'd you accomplish that?"

"Well, Sephiroth came over and told me that my clothes were inappropriate, so he had picked some out, and he is such a stickler for schedules and all and…what?" Zack said as he looked at Cloud. As he had spoken, the smile on Cloud's face grew to the point where it looked like his face was going to burst.

"Sephiroth dressed you!"

"NO! He just picked… out… my clothes," Zack said and felt his face burning as he looked away from the younger man.

~ _sounds pretty pathetic~_

Cloud burst out laughing and nearly fell out of the cab door.

"It's not that funny," Zack said.

~ _especially since I can't pay for the cab! ~_

Cloud took in a deep, heaving breath and then started laughing some more.

~ _giggly drunk laughing is cute. Malicious laughing is not!~_

"Cloud!" He sighed and looked at the most displeased looking cab driver.

Cloud was still laughing and wiped a tear off his cheek.

~ _it really isn't that funny~_

"It's alright. I-I-," Cloud snickered and pulled out his wallet, leaned over to had the gil over to the driver.

Zack frowned at his greatly amused friend.

They exited, and Cloud calmed his laughter as the cab drove away.

"How did that even happen?" Cloud blurted.

"What?"

"Sephiroth picking out your clothes!" Cloud demanded with that face splitting smile.

~ _Awww man~_

"Well, I let it slip that I was going to Monteno's, and that I sorta had a date," Zack said.

The amused look left Cloud's face. "What?"

"Yeah, well, he said he was there as a _guest_ of Rufus' and his little dancer party and all, and insisted that we share a ride," Zack mumbled as they started to walk toward the ShinRa building. "He didn't like what I was wearing so… hey?"

Cloud had stopped walking with a look of horror on his face. Cloud had stopped a couple of steps behind Zack.

~ _what the hell with the mood swings? ~_

"You told Sephiroth – THE Sephiroth – that you had a date?" Cloud gasped and acted like he was having trouble breathing.

"Yeah," Zack said.

"With me!"

"I didn't tell him that!" Zack said. "And the date thing just slipped out."

"Slipped out!" Cloud's breathing was a little rapid.

"Yeah."

"So, then he picked out your clothes?" Cloud said, getting his breathing under control, but still looking a little spooked.

"I know it's weird," Zack said. "Weirded me out a little bit, but I think he picked well," Zack said and posed slightly trying to get rid of that scared look on Cloud's face.

~ _fail~_

Cloud shook his head at him. "But you told him that you had a date!"

"Yeah. So. I did."

Cloud made a gasping sound, took a couple of breaths and looked at him with horrified blue eyes. "Sephiroth!"

Zack grabbed his shoulders and shook him slightly. "Easy there, Cloud. I didn't tell him who I was going on a date with, or give him any details there. Is that what you are freaking over?"

"I mean Sephiroth," Cloud said, "Sephiroth!"

Zack shook his head and grinned down at Cloud. He put his hands on Cloud's hips and Zack noticed a flush across Cloud's cheeks. "Yeah, he's Sephiroth. What? You got a thing for him?"

Cloud made a small choking sound, followed by some stammering noises that Zack assumed were supposed to be words with his face turned bright red.

~ _Cloud has a crush on Sephiroth!~_

Zack couldn't stop the laughter from surfacing and regretted it when Cloud gave him a narrowed look.

"No! Not like that! I mean, he is a hero and all and…"

"I know. I know. The reason that you wanted to join SOLDIER. I think that is the reason that ninety percent of people join," Zack said, seeing that Cloud was relaxing now.

They started to walk into the building in silence. Cloud was brooding a bit.

~ _man, did I ruin the mood? Stupid mouth, shouldn't have accused him of having a crush on Sephiroth ~_

Zack punched the elevator button to open the door. He pulled Cloud into a quick embrace and before Cloud could protest, he gave him a kiss in the empty lobby. Some of the tension at mentioning Sephiroth left Cloud after the kiss.

Cloud gave a little sigh. "Sorry. I got jumpy there." There was a smile on his face again, but not as bright as before.

"Sephiroth can make anyone jumpy," Zack said.

~ _been making me jumpy all week~_

The elevator dinged and they walked in together. Zack was pleased that Cloud calmed down, and was now relaxing against him with a small content type noise.

~ _another wonderful sound~_

As the elevator door closed, Cloud whispered. "Still funny as hell that Sephiroth dressed you."

~ _I am never going to live this down~_

* * *

Okay…okay… okay now… calm down now. I know you are all waiting for some more strong action (yaoi) and there will be some in the next chapter! I promise. It just may not be what you are expecting. (evil laughter, yet again)


	18. Limo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TEASE

TEASE

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (I think you can figure it out now) fic… yaoi…  
Cloud and Zack have had their first official date…

now…  
Reno has some escorting to do.

* * *

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now (maybe)…now it is just how will it all come together.  
Again, there are weapons… if you hurt me; I can't write… be nice now!

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks….

* * *

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **LIMO**

* * *

Reno couldn't tell if Rufus was annoyed, or frustrated. Rufus was sitting stiffly, staring out the window while watching the bony dancers get into the other limo. Reno sat opposite him, watching the boss' hands clutching his thighs a little too tightly. The woman was pawing Sephiroth, who was placing her inside the car after a small kiss on her hand.

~ _Sephiroth kissing someone. Strange~_

He wondered for a second if Sephiroth was going to join the dancers in the limo. The General stood straight, allowed Tseng to enter the limo, and promptly closed the door with a stiff - maybe even a little - overly hard slam.

~ _not impressed with the dancers, I guess~_

Sephiroth then retired to his own sleek car.

Rufus waited until the dancers' limo left, silently staring out the tinted window. It was a few minutes before Rufus leaned back in his seat, and fixed his eyes on Reno.

"Bummer end of the evening, huh?" Reno said as he observed the stiff looking Rufus, but Rufus didn't say anything. Rufus' hands were still pressed hard against his thighs, and it looked like he was grinding his teeth.

~ _yep, frustrated~_

"Well, at least the food was good," he grumbled sarcastically. Reno hadn't eaten or had a smoke since he had arrived at Monteno's. It was nearly three in the morning and he was starving, frustrated …

~ _SOLDIER boys most likely had a fun evening~_

…and he was starting to get a little grumpy.

Rufus' demeanour changed as he unclenched his hands from his thighs. A strange, small smile formed on his narrow lips. Rufus gently tapped on the privacy window of the limo. The window rolled down.

"Sir." The calm voice of the chauffer said.

"The long way," Rufus said simply, without turning his head to look at the driver. The man didn't say anything in response, but the window rolled back up. There was a sparkle in Rufus' cool eyes.

~ _the long way?~_

"Sir?" Reno said, sitting a little more erect in his seat. Rufus gracefully slid beside him in a slightly reclined pose. Little Boss was always a graceful man.

Rufus gave him a slight smile, just enough to see a glimpse of his white and straight teeth. "I always have a back up plan."

~ _back up plan?~_

"Wha?" he said stupidly.

"Where did you get that suit, Reno?" Rufus said as he leaned a little closer to him. "It is quite becoming." Reno was too stupefied to talk as the boss' hand moved to his jacket, opening it slightly. "Nice material." Rufus' fingers rubbed the lapel of his jacket.

"B-b-boss?" he said as Rufus leaned closer. Reno could feel the warm, tempting body, and felt his own body betraying him, yet again.

"There are quite a few layers," Rufus said as his hand moved to the vest and fiddled with the buttons there. "You picked a fine suit."

~ _holy crap~_

Reno felt his breath speeding up as the agile fingers of his boss undid a button on the vest. Rufus leaned into him.

~ _brat is putting some pretty heavy moves on! ~_

Rufus placed the hand that undid the vest button onto Reno's thigh. Reno just about jumped out of his skin. "Whoa, Boss. Flattered and all…" Reno faltered as the hand squeezed him firmly.

"Reno. Relax. I won't bite," Rufus whispered, and then his voice took on a purring resonance. "Just a little bit of nibbling." Reno's felt his spine began to tingle. The other arm from his assailant snaked behind his neck. Rufus' finger deftly touched his tattooed cheek. "I always liked these."

Reno gasped, but he didn't pull away. The touch was like liquid fire, as the finger ran from his tattoo, down to his cheek and throat.

"Ah…"

~ _say something you idiot!~_

"Got the suit at Lore's," he said stupidly.

~ _that is not what you should have said~_

"Hmmm," Rufus said. "Good choice."

The finger continued to his shirt collar. "I am used to seeing your throat. This look is a little stiff for you," Rufus said in a whisper, as he pulled on the tie with the hand that had been on his thigh.

"Uunh."

"Is that better?" Rufus said as the tie was discarded onto the seat across from them, the red strikingly bright against the white leather seat.

Rufus leaned heavily against his shoulder so that he was almost breathing into Reno's ear. The aura of the boss was surrounding him and it certainly was getting warm in the car.

~ _fucking hot~_

"I always liked the look of your throat," Rufus whispered into his ear. Reno couldn't help but shudder. The tingle was going straight to his…

~ _groin~_

…core and made himgasp involuntarily. Reno was able to focus his eyes enough to see the amused face of the ShinRa brat.

~ _so close~_

He had never really thought of him that way before. Well, he was hot and all, but he was the ShinRa brat! He was the next in line to be the boss.

Rufus was the little big boss! Rufus was the brat boss!

~ _and his hand is undoing your shirt~_

"Aaah, ha-ha, Boss," he said. Why was he allowing this to happen?

~ _You've been riled up for a_ _week,_ _and any touch is feeling good. His touch is unquestionably good! ~_

"Hmmmm," Rufus hummed between parted lips. One of Rufus' hands was running over Reno's throat and the other was fiddling with the buttons of his shirt.

"Unnn…"

Rufus chuckled, "Since when are you the quiet one?"

"Aaah," was the only sound that he was able to make.

~ _yer_ _acting like an idiot~_

Rufus grinned and undid another button on his shirt so that he could delve his soft hands further down Reno's chest. Rufus' face was so close to his that he could see that his eyes were sparkling with amusement.

~ _sexy brat~_

"Yo," Reno said and pulled slightly back, only to have the brat lean in further, and the hand on his throat tighten slightly. "I don't think…ha-ha-hooo, man. Reno swore his heart stopped as the brat took his ear into his mouth. Reno found himself wiggling against the mouth, and made more involuntary sounds.

~ _you're a whore, man~_

"Hmmm," Rufus hummed against his ear.

Reno thought he was going jump out of his skin, but he somehow managed to gather the strength to pull away and sit across from the ShinRa brat. He didn't like the way he was panting.

~ _wanting~_

"Are you going to become bashful?" Rufus said, looking completely unruffled and calm.

"Just-uh...you know…ah… not used to… ah," Reno stammered, feeling like a complete moron that he wasn't able to string together a sentence right now. Of course, his body wasn't reacting like it was supposed to,either.

~ _body's been a traitor all week. Why would this day be any different?~_

"I didn't think you were so shy," Rufus said, and was suddenly right there! Hovering over him, Rufus pressed one hand against his right shoulder and placed his knees on either side of Reno's thighs. This had effectively surrounded Reno into a warm trap. "I am curious to see if those legs you teased me with earlier are as tempting as the dancer's." Rufus was nearly sitting in his lap!

~ _see what trouble your teasing got you into~_

"Hmmmm," Rufus hummed again. The hand that was by Reno's shoulder moved into his shirt again and the little boss' hand roamed over his skin on Reno's upper chest. Rufus was hovering over his lap and Reno realized that his boss smelled nice.

"Aaaah."

~ _do something~_

Reno tried to move again, but this time Rufus pressed his hand against his chest. "Come on, now, your vest is getting in the way of my exploring." Rufus' hands went down to Reno's vest and worked on his buttons.

~ _he's gonna strip ya~_

"Ah, boss." Reno swallowed. "I don't know if this is such a good idea, yo."

That hand didn't stop moving as it finished with the buttons and deftly moved the vest aside so that his belly felt very exposed, even if the shirt underneath still covered it.

"And why not?" Rufus said. Rufus' knees were trapping either side of Reno's thighs, making it so that he couldn't move away, even if Reno tried. Rufus leaned back slightly so that Reno could feel the boss' bottom resting slightly on his knees.

~ _trapped by the brat~_

Rufus had stopped moving as if he were waiting for an answer. He had a patient look on his face, relaxed even.

~ _I have never been more tense in my life~_

The stupid thing was that he had an answer, but it was an extremely dumb one and he couldn't get it out his mouth. He didn't think there was any refined or diplomatic way of saying that he had a crush on a SOLDIER and a SOLDIER wanna-be, and he didn't think he should be dabbling in anything else at the moment.

~ _you don't have a chance with them~_

"Hmmmm?" Rufus hummed and his hand started to work on the remaining buttons on his shirt. "Thought so."

Reno swallowed as he looked down when the nimble fingers of one hand unbuttoned his shirt, and the other set of agile fingers crept up into his hair. Rufus gently tugged his head back, exposing his throat.

"You have a wonderful neckline," Rufus whispered.

~ _he's totally sexually harassing you~_

"So swan-like."

~ _animal_ _anal_ _ogies_ _? ~_

 _"_ Graceful."

~ _whoever_ _heard of a red swan?~_

Rufus' fingers ran down the side of his throat, as the other hand was now massaging his scalp. Reno couldn't help but lean his head further back, baring his throat even more. "Tempting," Rufus breathed.

~ _Fucking tease!~_

 _"_ Ruf-Rufus," Reno whispered, and was shocked at how his voice quivered as he spoke.

"Hmmm?" Rufus said as his finger ran over Reno's adam's apple. It caused Reno to swallow hard, and he let out a shaky breath. "I wonder if you want a kiss, hmmm?"

~ _Shit, yeah!~_

The hand in his hair kept Reno from moving on his own to claim a kiss for himself.

~ _why don't you move your hands? ~_

That was a wonderful thought! He moved his hands to reach up to touch the brat that was straddling him. Rufus gave out a small laugh. "Ah-ah-ah," Rufus said shaking his head lightly. "I am having fun. Put those hands back down." Rufus gave Reno's hair a little tug.

~ _No way~_

But he did. Reno obediently put his hands back down to his side. It took a lot of effort, and he was shaking slightly.

~ _Boss's having fun?~_

"I think you want more than a kiss, hmmm?" Rufus said, leaning close using a wonderful sinful tone of voice.

~ _Do it already!~_

Reno found that his heart was racing, and his breath was coming out in short, small gasps as the brat's fully clothed chest pressed against Reno's exposed body. Rufus had tilted his head to the side and breathed against his throat.

"A little nibble?"

~ _Come on!~_

"Uh," Reno was able to moan, as he tried to turn his head to meet the brat's lips. He wanted the kiss; he wanted the touch. He didn't want the teasing!

~ _two SOLDIER boys do that enough~_

The hand in his hair held him firmly in place, and those damp lips kissed his throat. Reno knew he was panting. The panting accompanied small needy sounds that he didn't even know that he could make. Rufus' lips moved to his jaw, exploring and teasing him.

Reno couldn't help but lift his hips. He doubted that he ever had such an uncomfortable tightness in his pants.

~ _maybe the brat will help with that~_

 _"_ Boss!" he said with a voice full of desperation.

"Hmmm?" Rufus said as he dragged his lips up his cheek. "Are you enjoying this?"

~ _Boss_ _is such a tease!~_

 _"_ Hell, yeah," Reno whispered and tried to move to claim his boss' mouth, but the hand in his hair kept him from doing so.

He raised his hips again.

"You need to relax, my guardian," Rufus said. "Enjoy the ride I am giving you."

~ _need it~_

"Please, Boss." He desperately panted. Rufus gave him a small chuckle and…

~ _finally~_

 _…_ touched his lips to his. Reno wanted to consume the mouth that was only just touching his lips. Reno had never felt so desperate for a kiss in his life, and the barest whisper of a touch was not nearly enough.

"Boss," he said and despised the pained whimper that followed. He ignored the pain in his scalp as the hand in his hair tried to hold him back.

~ _want~_

Reno pushed his lips against the soft ones of Rufus. Reno forced his tongue into the warm cavern of a mouth. Rufus made a small sighing sound and forced the kiss to his aggressive favour. Reno let him as the hand that was in his hair relented, and began to pet him. Reno felt the other skilful hand reaching in between them, and could feel his shirt being unbuttoned.

Rufus pulled back and Reno wanted to follow him with the kiss, but a hand pushed against his bare chest to keep him against the back of the white limo seat.

"You kiss well," Rufus said in a low, sensual grumble. Rufus licked his lips and Reno was glad to see that he made the boss pant.

~ _so want!~_

"Wouldn't expect any less of me, yo?" Reno managed to whisper.

Rufus laughed. "No, I would not." Rufus' fingers finished with the buttons on his shirt, and he now pulled it out of Reno's pants so that his chest was revealed. Reno's guns were now uncomfortably lodged in his armpits, but he wasn't going to complain. Rufus' hands were now caressing his sides, and his grey eyes did not leave Reno's sparkling blue ones as he spoke. "You are quite enticing, Swan."

~S _wan_ _? Whatever turns you_ _on, Boss_

"You too, Boss," Reno said as those wandering hands moved to his ribs.

Rufus' eyes lowered and he made another humming sound. "My. You even have tattoos here." Reno felt the hands run over the markings that he had that covered the front of his ribs and curled to his back. They were in the same red ink that marked his cheeks. "You will have to tell me sometime, what it all means."

"Anythin' ya want, Boss," Reno whispered.

~ _and I mean anything~_

"Hmmm," Rufus hummed. Reno gasped as Rufus leaned in and kissed his chest.

~ _gonna burst if he keeps this up~_

 _"_ Wanna touch ya." Reno gasped as he bucked his hips and threw his head back.

Rufus continued to give small kisses across his chest. Rufus' eyes turned up at him and made that cat-like resonance again. "Do you?"

"Hell, yeah," Reno said and tried to move his hands. Rufus grabbed his hands and pressed them hard into the limo seats.

"I am still having fun," Rufus said. "Let me touch you."

~ _touch me already!~_

 _"_ Feels…ah…good, boss," Reno muttered as those hands moved down to his belly. The touch caused his skin to tingle and feel like he was going to spontaneously combust.

"I can hear that," Rufus purred. "Your tongue seems to be working again." Rufus smirked and flashed his expensive white teeth. "I will have to remedy that."

"Wha..humpf," Reno whimpered as he was greeted with an aggressive kiss, and ended up fighting the tongue of his boss which seemed to want to consume him.

~ _burning up here.~_

The kiss lasted until they couldn't breathe anymore, and they parted, gasping.

"Aren't ya gettin' hot in that suit, Boss?" Reno quickly asked, and tried to lean forward to plant a kiss on the boss' throat, but Rufus pulled back. "I can help ya with that."

Rufus laughed as he leaned back, putting more pressure on Reno's knees, and traced his hands down Reno's chest to his belly; those dexterous fingers dancing around the hem of his…

~ _groin~_

… fancy red suit pants. "I am sure you would, but I am quite comfortable right now, my sinewy Turk."

~ _I'm not. Pants are too fucking tight.~_

"You are flushed," Rufus said with his fingers moving under the waist line in a soothing, smoothing motion.

~ _quit teasing_ _Boss,_ _and just damn well do it already~_

"Let me touch you," Reno begged and bucked his hips. "Boss, please."

~ _begging? You have become –so- pathetic~_

"Hmmm?" Rufus said and leaned forward to claim another kiss. Reno gladly leaned forward as well, to accept the aggressive tongue into his mouth.

~ _damn he can kiss~_

They continued to kiss with the boss' hands in between them; those fingers delving deeper into Reno's pants as they kissed and panted into each other. Reno wanted to touch the brat, push him down into the seat and strip that pompous white suit off of him.

Rufus pulled back from the kiss and Reno found himself moaning and wanting more.

~ _don't start begging again~_

"Boss," Reno whispered and hated the way that his voice had taken on a whinny…

~ _pleading~_

…tone to it.

"I believe we have arrived," Rufus said.

"Wha?"

Rufus laughed slightly. "You do amuse me, Reno," Rufus said and moved his hands from the red pants and tugged at Reno's shirt, covering up his bare chest and belly. "It seems that I have arrived home."

~ _that was the long way?~_

Reno felt a smile creep across his face. "Yo, need help gettin' back to…

~ _your bed~_

…your place?"

"Oh. I think I can manage," Rufus said.

"Wha?"

Reno swallowed hard as Rufus pulled back from him and made him feel absolutely naked. Reno sat, feeling like a complete moron staring as his boss, who simply smoothed his completely unruffled suit…

~ _with those elegantly soft hands~_

… and with a strange crooked smile plastered on his face. "Thank you for the escort, Reno," he said as the limo door opened.

"Wha?"

Rufus slipped out of the limo with his usual elegant grace.

The door closed.

Reno sat there feeling _very_ naked, _very_ used, and _very_ frustrated.

~ _what the hell just didn't happen here?~_

"What the hell!" he yelled into the now empty limo.

Reno moved his arms from his side. He hadn't realized how sore he had become from not moving.

He was about to bolt out the limo, grab Rufus and drag him back in, and ravish him right there on the white leather seats!

The dividing window rolled down.

"Is there somewhere you would like to go, sir?"

~ _I am so going to kill someone~_

Reno mumbled an answer and started to button himself back up. The driver didn't bother to roll up the window as he started to drive away from the ShinRa manor.

~ _I hate men~_

"Never even gotta look at my legs, yo," Reno muttered, as the limo started to move again.

* * *

Well…I turned Reno against his own…(chuckle) Isn't Rufus just a horrible little tease….oh…

So, wha did ya think, yo?


	19. Garage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

 ****

* * *

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

Warning:

 **Authors Note** :  
I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks….

Oh, Sephiroth…and Reno…heavy chapter  
…not what you're thinking…(*evil grin*)

 **Disclaimer:  
** Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **GARAGE**

* * *

Sephiroth brushed his sleeve against his mouth again. Whatever type of vile hand lotion that skeleton of a woman used, was still lingering on his lips. He shouldn't have kissed that chilly hand of hers.

~ _courtesy is expected~_

Courtesy.

He scoffed.

~ _sucking up is more like it~_

He hated that he had to sit through that meal and deal with the political niceties of having the brat boss, head of the Turks, and of course, him being the figurehead General of SOLDIER at the table all to…to impress some dancers.

Not a princess; not a prince.

Not a corporate leader...hell, not even a mayor.

Dancers!

Damn Dancers!

He hated that he was thinking about how much Genesis would have enjoyed that dinner, and most likely would have convinced him to take up the dancers' invitation to join them back to their hotel.

~ _Gen~_

Angeal would have berated them for such dishonourable actions.

~ _Angeal~_

But they had left him behind. Leaving him with the feeling of being confused and alone was even more painful than before he had friends in his life.

Sephiroth turned; he had delayed making his way back to his cold apartment for long enough. He was getting tired from driving around and seeing couples walking hand in hand on the street. He was tired of thinking of couples that he imagined were in each other's embrace behind the dark windows he drove by. He desired that warmth once again, but he knew that it was not what greeted him upon his arrival of the place that he called home.

~ _coldness~_

Very cold. The evening was nothing more than a chilly reminder of how frigid his life had become.

~ _again~_

He had that warmth. A taste of what it was like to be more than just the General, and to have a warm body nestled beside him as he slept.

~ _miss that~_

He truly did miss it.

~ _want it~_

He had hoped that Zack would take that place. Zack was the closest thing he had to a friend. He thought Zack needed time. But it had appeared that Zack had his flower girl interest from the slums and now it seemed he had a yellow-haired infantryman in his apartment. He doubted that there was room for him to pursue his second in command.

Sephiroth frowned as he drove into the garage. He would have to pass the door of his comrade and be aware that Zack had someone else warming his bed.

~ _maybe he didn't bring him back to his place~_

Sephiroth remembered the black bag that Zack had carried the day that he announced he had a date. Genesis had come back from a shopping trip with a similar anonymous looking bag…

~ _didn't sleep that night~_

 _…_ and it had been full of wonderful surprises.

~ _didn't sleep for a couple of nights~_

Sephiroth didn't think he liked the idea of Zack enjoying such delights with another, when it should be him.

~ _you haven't even asked~_

That was the problem. He didn't think Zack would be interested in joining him in his bed, but it was quite a shock to see that he went both ways, as it were.

~ _with an infantryman~_

He frowned heavily as he parked his car in its designated parking spot. He dreaded the thought of walking past Zack's apartment door. He hesitated as he shut off the engine. For a moment, he thought that he should put his car in reverse and go for a longer drive. He did not want to go back to his cold and empty apartment knowing that Zack was getting warm and comfy in his own.

~ _with an infantryman~_

He shut off the car and exited, immediately grimacing at the strange smell that was filling the garage.

~ _cigarette smoke ~_

He frowned. He knew the source of the smell was usually Reno. Sephiroth walked in long graceful steps towards the elevators. The smell was stronger as he got closer. He hated those damn cigarettes that Reno smoked. He had threatened Reno a couple of times about his bad habit of smoking in the garage. It looked like he was going to have to do it again.

Sephiroth saw the obnoxious Turk slightly hunched on the northern side of the elevators. The redhead was slouched against the wall, and in a slender hand he was holding a smouldering cigarette.

Sephiroth felt his lips twitch at the sight.

Reno was a mess.

There was not a button that was on the Turk's shirt that was connected properly. The white shirt was hanging out of his pants, and was twisted so that a glimpse of Reno's white belly was clearly visible above the waistline. The formerly snug vest hung loosely and twisted underneath the heavy red jacket. With Reno's slumped shoulders and slightly arched back, his guns that would have normally been hidden, were visible. Reno's normally wild hair looked even worse as half of his rat tail was no longer contained in the elastic that he bound it with, and his necktie was nowhere to be seen.

Reno had been strangely neat and orderly when they had left Monteno's; quite an accomplishment for the normally rough Turk. His appearance made it apparent that he had some difficulties with Rufus.

Reno sucked hard on his cigarette and then exhaled with a long sigh. Sephiroth noticed the redhead's hands were shaking, and the horrid cigarette quivered precariously in those fingers.

"Full of fuckin' teases," the Turk muttered as he took another drag. "Hate them all."

Sephiroth did not have to ponder what he was talking about. Obviously the Turk had a difficult ride home. It was pretty evident that Rufus had something to do with the condition of the smoking fool.

"I presume…" Sephiroth started.

Reno made a startled sound and looked like he was going to jump out of his skin. He nearly dropped the cigarette, but recovered it with a little bit of juggling, somehow not managing to burn his fingers. "What the hell!"

"… that you had some difficulty escorting the Vice-President home this evening," Sephiroth finished, ignoring the amusing nervous reaction from the Turk.

The Turk yelled, and glared at him. "Don't fuckin' scare me like that Seph!"

~ _Seph~_

He glared at the redhead.

"..iroth."

~ _terrible save~_

The shaking hand brought that cigarette to his lips again.

"Jumpy, aren't we Turk?" Sephiroth spoke and walked closer to the jittery man. The cigarette vibrated in Reno's hand as he held it to the side, at least attempting to be considerate.

"Fuckin' horrid night, bro."

~ _bro~_

"Who was that boy?" Sephiroth blurted. It was the perfect opportunity to get information out of the nervous redhead. It would save him hunting him down later or asking Zack directly. The image of the boy walking past him, staring at his phone and ignoring him became brilliant in his mind again.

"Huh? Boy? Who?" Reno blinked.

"The boy that was with Zack at Monteno's," Sephiroth grumbled.

"Boy?"

"The blond that was with Zack!" Sephiroth was beginning to wonder if getting information out of the Turk was going to be possible. Obviously Rufus had rattled his nerves.

"SOLDIER wannabe?" Reno blinked and threw his finished cigarette butt onto the ground, then stomped on it. He straightened slightly as he pulled away from the wall and looked like he was searching his jacket for something. "What about 'em?" He pulled out his cigarette pack.

"What is the _wannabe's_ name?" Sephiroth demanded and tried not to clench his fists in frustration at the horrible manner of speech from the former street urchin.

"Cloud?" Reno said. His quaking fingers pulled out another cigarette and placed it against his lips.

"Is that his name?" Sephiroth said. _Cloud_. He did not know of this infantryman. "What is his last name?"

Reno pulled out a lighter to light his cigarette. "Strife," he said and exhaled the smoke sharply, and he slumped so that the line of his belly beneath his disjointedly buttoned shirt could no longer be seen.

"Cloud Strife," Sephiroth repeated. The blond hair and blue eyes should have been easy to spot among the mostly dark haired infantry. How did he miss the young man, and Zack take notice of him? There was a bunch of questions about the boy: Where was he from?; How long had he been in Midgar?; How long had he been working for ShinRa? From Reno's comments, he understood that Cloud wanted to be a SOLDIER. Was that why Zack was interested in him? "Why was he with Zack?"

Reno mumbled something around his cigarette. He was looking at his toes and twisting like a scolded child.

"What's that?" Sephiroth leaned in a bit toward the other man.

"I lost a stupid bet," Reno mumbled, and his eyes darted back to his shoes. Sephiroth barely heard the mutter that came after. "Stupid amatore bastards"

~ _amatore_

That word disturbed him, but he would question that later. Reno calling them lovers was very disturbing. How long had Zack been seeing this Cloud?

"Bet?" Sephiroth asked, moving to safer ground than Zack's personal life for the moment.

Reno mumbled and began to squirm in his childish manner again.

"That is an exceedingly bad habit of yours," Sephiroth grumbled. "Look at me when you speak."

Reno looked up at him. "I lost a damn bet!" he snapped. "Alright. I lost a drinkin' contest to that half-pint, emo SOLDIER wannabe and…" Reno's voice trailed off and his face went red.

"And?" Sephiroth pressed. He watched as the Turk took another deep, shaky drag off his cigarette and refrained from looking at his feet again.

"Nothin'," Reno said.

~ _liar~_

The Turk had a lot of anger in his eyes at the moment. Sephiroth guessed it had something to do with the Vice-President. He would have to broach that topic as well, but first, he had to clear up this bet issue. "You lost a drinking contest and you had to provide a fancy dinner for this Cloud?"

"Hmpf. Yeah," Reno said.

"And so, why was he there with Zack?" Sephiroth asked, seeing the strange discomfort and glaze flash in his blue eyes.

"The idiots were jus' tryin' to break my wallet, yo," Reno said in a rushed voice. He obviously was covering up something else that was still sitting behind his eyes. Reno's eyes wavered and fell to his feet once again.

"Zack stated he had a date."

Reno was in the process of inhaling that horrible cigarette when Sephiroth spoke that simple sentence. Reno made a gasping sound and looked up at him with a horrified look on his face.

"Now, I know who it was with. He neglected to tell me," Sephiroth said. "I was not aware that Zack's... attentions have shifted."

"Yeah, um..." Reno said.

"How long has this been occurring?" Sephiroth demanded, even shocked at how his tone had become somewhat fierce.

"Shit, I dunno," Reno said, finishing off his cigarette and discarding it with the other dead butt on the ground.

~ _Liar~_

Sephiroth pressed the elevator button. He was tiring of the smell and the conversation with the redheaded Turk. He decided to switch topics. "How was Rufus?"

Reno had been fiddling in his jacket again but froze as Sephiroth spoke those words. His eyes grew wide for a moment, but then he sneered. "Fuckin' tease, yo."

It was as Sephiroth suspected. Rufus was up to his old tricks and had targeted Reno this time. It also seemed that Reno realized, at that moment, that he had buttoned his shirt wrong and began to mutter another series of curses. If nothing else, the Turk was always amusing.

"Tease?" Sephiroth asked. He was well aware of the Vice-President's tendency to want to control every situation, and had seen the aftermath of some of Rufus' play.

~ _Gen got teased by him, as well~_

The shaking of Reno's hands grew as he reached for another cigarette. "That will be the third," Sephiroth said unnecessarily.

"Yeah. So. Whatever. I damn well need this, yo," Reno said as he pulled it out of his pack.

"I had warned you repeatedly about your bad habit," Sephiroth said, reaching over and pulling the cigarette out of his hands.

"Yo!" Reno protested as Sephiroth crushed it between his fingers. Sephiroth even hated the smell of even the dry tobacco and wished that he had just tossed it aside. "I said that I needed it!"  
"You should try a less harmful habit," Sephiroth said.

"Everythin' is fuckin' damaging to my health right now. This is the only thing that de-stresses me!" Reno growled angrily as he pulled out another cigarette. Sephiroth grasped the pack and crushed it, tossing it down the length of the garage along with the lighter.

Reno looked horrified at his actions, and with another growl, "You owe me, bro."

"I owe you nothing," Sephiroth said as he looked at the angry redhead.

~ _you always did like the ones with red hair~_

He found himself tensing at the thought.

~ _especially with a wild temper and hot mouth to match~_

He must have been thinking about Genesis too much tonight if he was equating him to Reno. Reno was nothing like Genesis and there was no reason that he should be comparing the two.

~ _bet_ _he's_ _just as wild in bed~_

He rubbed his forehead and tried not to think of the disturbing thoughts. He knew that it had been awhile, but the thoughts of Reno were not welcome ones!

"I need another damn smoke!" Reno pouted. "Damn it, Seph. I already had a tense enough night. I need to calm my nerves! Those," Reno flailed his arms in the direction Sephiroth threw the smokes, "were my last pack, yo!"

"Good." Sephiroth found himself angrily leaning in towards the Turk. "Maybe you will then quit that dirty habit."

"I like my dirty habits," Reno glared back.

~ _I bet he has some really fun dirty habits~_

Sephiroth realized that he was leaning much too close to the agitated Turk. He stood straight and took a step back, only to have the angered man step into his personal space. Reno pushed a finger into his chest. "Been a pretty shitty week and I'm not in the mood to deal with _another_ one of ya flirty bastards, yo."

~ _flirty bastards?~_

"I think you should keep your hands to yourself, Turk," Sephiroth warned.

"I have been!" Reno said and poked his chest again. "It's gettin' damn annoyin' that I am expected to keep my hands to myself."

Reno made the bad choice of poking the General again.

~ _that's it!~_

Sephiroth grabbed the Turk's arm and quickly twisted it behind his back in a swirling motion, and then he thrust the redhead against the wall in a brutal push. Reno made a satisfyingly scared grunt. Sephiroth placed his other hand on the hip of the Turk and leaned against his body, knowing that he was way too wiry to be held back by just by his arm.

"I do not appreciate being poked by you," Sephiroth growled close to the Turk's ear. He heard Reno's breath hitch in his throat as he did so, and Reno let out a moan.

~ _nothing like up against the wall ~_

Sephiroth let go of the Turk and backed away, very aware that he did not like the feeling that the redhead was giving him.

~ _he's very warm~_

The Turk whirled on him.

The elevator dinged and opened beside him.

Sephiroth released the breath that he didn't realize that he was holding, and walked to the elevator.

He didn't take his eyes off of the flustered Turk, who was still standing with his back straight against the wall. The skin of his belly was showing again in that stance, and Sephiroth found that he had to force his eyes up.

~ _redheads_ _make things interesting~_

He pressed the button for the door to close.

He heard Reno mutter, "Fuckin' tease."

* * *

Was that a little too tense? Reno is certainly frustrated if he is challenging Sephiorth! And Sephiroth… well, I think he is getting a little frustrated too. Nothing like a little tension with the teasing…

Okay… I think I need to explain the work _amatore_. It's an Italian word for lover, but at the same time, it can mean, devotee, enthusiast or fancier and of course…lover…a bit lame, but then remember the word did come out of Reno who does tend to twist things a little bit to make it fit. And I like the sound of it, which was why I picked that word. If I am totally wrong about the word, let me know and I will switch the word out with something maybe a bit more descriptive.

Wha' do ya think, yo? (Have to practice this slang writing a bit more. I make things much to formal at times)

Toodles and send me a note… I like to hear from all you out there.


	20. Kitchen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read. A really hot and heavy chapter here, so if you don't like the idea of Cloud and Zack getting it on… well, do not read it….extra-long (compared to other chaps as well) but so worth the read, if I do say so myself.

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks….

Zack and Cloud! They are in the apartment…finally…to make it all official, officially official and all.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **KITCHEN**

* * *

Zack had his hands on the firm ass of the younger man. As soon as they walked into the door, he had thrust him onto his kitchen counter to enjoy the feeling of the warm, and inviting body. Zack had his mouth firmly latched onto the supple mouth that was fighting against his with his tongue. Cloud had that pale blue shirt unbuttoned and pulled to the side, and Zack had spent a few moments admiring the lithe body of the man, before starting to devour his mouth.

Zack broke away from those lips and moved to Cloud's bare shoulder. Cloud made a soft moan and tilted his head back to allow him easier access. Zack squeezed that wiggling and suede covered bottom.

~ _want him~_

""Z-Zack," Cloud whimpered, and squirmed against him. Zack did not move his mouth from Cloud's neck.

~ _tastes good~_

"Zack." Cloud was moaning more urgently, and his hands pushed against Zack's chest, forcing him to pull away.

"Hmm?"

Cloud was looking at him with a flush on his face, and short quick breaths escaping his slightly swollen lips. He looked amazing.

~ _cute~_

The normally stoic young man was pure wildfire when he was turned on, and Zack planned on enjoying each moment he could with Cloud like this; it was empowering.

Cloud opened his mouth as if he were to speak, but then let out a sad sigh. Cloud lowered his eyes, and his hands dragged down his chest. Zack wanted to pounce on him again, but he held back his urges. Cloud mumbled, "Oh, man."

~ _that didn't sound good~_

"What's wrong?" Zack queried, and moved his hands from the softly clad ass, so that Cloud was now sitting on the counter. Zack placed a hand under the blond's chin to force Cloud's blue eyes up to his violet ones. He moved his other hand to Cloud's side so he could rub him gently.

"N-nothing's wrong," Cloud said, a little hesitantly.

~ _that sounds like something's wrong~_

Zack tilted Cloud's head and examined his frowning face. Cloud's eyes no longer contained that lustful sparkle that had been there when he had thrust him onto the counter. Cloud was having another one of his mood swings.

~ _not now~_

"Cloud," he said softly, and continued to rub his warm side.

Cloud's chewed his lip and shyly looked up at him.

~ _damn cute~_

He let out a big sigh. "I-I should tell you something."

~ _tell me something?~_

Zack swallowed hard. What could Cloud want to tell him? They had been friends for so long; was there something that he didn't know?

"Well?" Zack tried to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

~ _this better not have anything to do with Sephiroth~_

Cloud sighed heavily. "It's not that easy," Cloud said as his fingers ghosted over Zack's belly. Zack held back the shudder that threatened to cause him to burst out of his skin.

"Well…" Cloud whispered. "...It's just…."

~ _spit it out!~_

He had never wanted to shake someone more in his life than he wanted to shake Cloud right then for being bashful. "What?"

Cloud gave another sigh, drew himself up straight, looked him directly in the eye and...crumbled into a slouch. Cloud pulled his hands from Zack's side and covered his face. Zack was about to ask him to spit it out already, when Cloud starting talking into his hands.

"I haven't..." he paused and threw his hands in his lap. "I haven't gone all the way before."

Zack blinked.

~ _virgin~_

Cloud still looked at his lap to his twisting hands. "Me and- well – It wasn't like," Cloud sniffed. "I mean, you have to be quiet in the barracks and…"

~ _don't need you to be quiet here~_

"…everytime, well, we tried, I would get too loud and we would have to stop."

Zack smirked and refrained from laughing. Cloud was worried about not having gone _all the way._ "That tongue of yours tells me that you have more than enough experience."

Cloud twisted a little and Zack could see that flush on his cheeks. "Yeah, well. I'm quiet when I do… that."

Zack chuckled lightly at him.

"It's not funny," Cloud said, lifting his chin up to look at him. Cloud's eyes flashed with a strange determination.

"What are you worried about?" Zack asked, caressing his face. He leaned in for a gentle and reassuring kiss before pulling back to look at Cloud again.

Cloud chewed his lip, and his eyes showed a little bit of fear. "I haven't done this before!" he said loudly. "I mean… I… I…"

Zack gave him another gentle kiss on the lips, aware of how big Cloud's blue eyes were. "We don't have to rush anything," Zack breathed into his mouth. "You still want to, right?"

"No!" Cloud said quickly.

~ _WHAT~_

"Yes- I mean, yes! Don't confuse me!" Cloud said, shaking his head. "I want to. I mean…don't look at me like that." Cloud's hand reached out to his shoulder and held Zack firmly. "I just haven't done it before!"

Zack let his heart calm down as he looked at him; Cloud's eyes were so large and bright. He also looked a little scared at his own bungling words. Cloud's mouth was moving as if he wanted to say more, but was unsure if he was going to muddle his words further.

~ _he is just nervous~_

"Are you worried that it will hurt?" he whispered.

Cloud nodded. "I want to, Zack." Cloud lowered his eyes. "I really, really want to."

~ _by Gaia, I want you~_

Zack took another gentle kiss from Cloud's lips. Cloud was a little tentative, but returned it.

"I'll take it slow," Zack said, and wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist. "I'll do whatever you want."

Cloud flushed again, and that lustful sparkle returned to his eyes. Zack was a little startled when brown, suede-covered legs wrapped firmly around his waist, and Cloud's arms clasped frimly around his neck. Cloud lifted himself off of the counter, and pressed himself against the dark haired man's chest, their mouths crashing hungrily together. Zack had to stagger back, hurriedly placing his arms around the slender man's waist, and found his back pressed against his fridge.

~ _not acting like a virgin~_

Zack didn't waste anymore time in the kitchen. With Cloud clinging to his body and his tongue trying to force its way down his throat, he carried the blond into the bedroom.

~ _bedroom, here we come~_

Zack was forced to break the kiss to catch his breath. Cloud moved his mouth so that he was nibbling on his ear, which caused Zack to lurch, as they neared the bed.

"Damn it," Zack muttered and staggered forward, nearly falling. Cloud was not letting go of him, and seem to squeeze his legs tighter around him. Whatever doubt or fear that Cloud had, was obviously gone.

~ _time to play~_

He stood beside his bed and released his arms from around Cloud waist. Cloud's legs just gripped him even tighter and his arms pulled himself closer, as if he was afraid to let go.

Zack sighed, trying to control himself somewhat. The nibbling, and the tight grip around his waist, was making it hard for him to breathe. "Cloud," Zack gasped, and put his hands back on those hips.

"Nrgh," Cloud murmured against his ear.

"We're in the bedroom," Zack whispered and ran his hands up his sides again, causing Cloud to shiver.

"Unnn," Cloud whimpered and pulled away from his ear. "We are?"

"Uh-huh."

Cloud moved his mouth back to his ear with another incoherent sound. The grip around his waist loosened. Cloud's teeth stayed on his ear, forcing Zack to bend as Cloud slid down his body. Zack groaned against his will as Cloud let go. Zack stood back up, taking in a shaking breath.

"You sure don't act like you don't know what you're doing," Zack said, as he grabbed the blue shirt that was loosely hanging off of Cloud's shoulders. He threw it to the floor.

A strange, sensual smile spread across the young's man's face, which made Zack shiver.

"You're teasing again," Zack whispered, surprised that he couldn't raise his voice.

"Am I?" Cloud said, and his fingers moved to Zack's shirt to begin undoing the buttons. "I thought you liked it when I tease."

~ _damn it~_

Every move that Cloud did was teasing. Every word, every breath; everything about him was teasing. Zack whimpered as Cloud tossed his shirt and vest to the floor beside the pants he had discarded earlier, when Sephiroth had dressed him.

~ _don't need to think about Sephiroth, right now~_

Cloud's hands were on Zack's chest, and his mouth was at his throat. Zack refocused and was able to move his hands to those snug pants. Cloud mimicked his movements as his fingers went to the front of Zack's pants. Buttons and zippers were undone.

~ _Cloud is commando~_

Zack suddenly remembered how wonderful it felt feeling up the blond, who had not been wearing underwear, in the cab ride home. He groaned uncontrollably as he tugged at those tight pants. Cloud effortlessly pushed Zack's down and they fell around his ankles. Zack wished he had thought of going commando.

"Your pants are too tight," Zack mumbled as he tried to peel those pants off his hips.

"You bought them a size too small," Cloud said as his thumbs rubbed underneath the hem of his boxers.

~ _gonna have to_ _have a little talk with_ _Reno later~_

Zack hummed and kissed Cloud again, with his hands trying to get Cloud's pants down those slender hips. It wasn't nearly quick enough.

~ _desperate times call for desperate measures~_

Zack gripped the hem of Cloud's pants and dropped to his knees, yanking the tight piece of clothing down with him. Cloud gave a pleasing, yet sharp gasp. Thankfully the pants slipped down with the force, and now…

~ _oh yeah~_

 _…_ he had the most delightful sight twitching right in front of him. Cloud swayed a little bit and placed his hands onto Zack shoulders so that he wouldn't fall.

~ _mine~_

Zack was not in the mood for any more teasing. He was so wound up and wanted the enticing man. Zack did not hesitate to move his hands and grab his hips to still him, and allowed his mouth to descend on the waiting cock that was right in front of his face. Cloud pressed against him. The sounds that he was making was beyond anything he had heard Cloud, or any other lovers, make before. The pleading, mewling sounds caused his stomach to flutter and his skin to feel like it was going to start on fire.

~ _music to my ears~_

Zack swirled his tongue around the warm, throbbing member and applied some suction to it.

Cloud's pleading noises echoed in the room. One of Cloud's hands tugged at Zack's hair, as if he was trying to push him away, but Zack was not going to allow that to happen.

Zack rolled his eyes up, so he could look up at Cloud. Cloud was looking down at him with eyes that were absolutely glowing…

~ _will be amazing when he becomes a SOLDIER~_

 _…_ with lust and passion. His face was flushed as he opened those lips, and let out another wonderful moan. Zack could feel Cloud's whole body shaking as he stood there.

"Zack!" Cloud said urgently, and let out a groan. "I…I...un…coming…Zaaa."

Zack stopped his suction and his tongue to listen to Cloud's panting. Zack pulled back slowly, keeping his lips tight around his cock before he let it bounce up against the taut belly.

Cloud frowned and looked down at him. "Why…why did you stop?" Zack was amused by the annoyed tone and narrowed eyes that were directed at him.

Zack smirked. He tightened his grip on his hips and tossed Cloud onto the bed. Cloud gave a small yelp as he bounced on the mattress. Zack quickly pulled the suede pants off and threw them across the room. Zack made sure that his legs didn't get tangled up in his own pants that were wrapped around his ankles.

The naked and excited Cloud looked up at him expectedly.

Zack grinned and went to his bedside table.

"You _did_ make it to the store," Cloud said with grin as he moved to the centre of Zack's bed.

Zack nodded. It was Cloud's first time tonight.

~ _you get to deflower him~_

Zack tried not to react to the thought. Zack's stomach tightened with anticipation. He never wanted anyone so much, and wanted to make sure that Cloud was not going to regret his decision. Zack sat on the edge of the bed and opened the drawer to pull out a package of condoms, and lube.

~ _the rest will be for later~_

He closed the drawer and turned to Cloud, whose eyes were wide and his teeth on his lip.

~ _so damn cute~_

He placed himself beside the younger man and kissed him, allowing his hand to roam over Cloud's chest and belly.

~ _way to_ _o_ _loud for the barracks~_

Zack resumed kissing him, enjoying the feel of the warming body that was wiggling against him.

"Zack!" Cloud said as he threw his head back.

Zack moved his hand down to that firm bottom again, as he kissed and sucked on Cloud's neck. Cloud's hands were clinging to his back in a nearly painful way. Another delightful moan filled the room that had started from Cloud's lips. Zack knew that Cloud wanted him to pay attention to his cock that he was rubbing against his thigh, but Zack had other plans.

~ _big plans~_

Zack's hand went between those clenching cheeks.

"Relax," he whispered into Cloud's ear. Cloud nodded and he began to relax and Zack moved his hand deeper to touch that wonderful, tight entrance.

Cloud made a small squeaking sound as he tightened up again. Zack smiled and moved his hand away to now receive a slight moan of disappointment.

"We need to get you ready," Zack whispered.

Cloud's whole body shuddered against him. That movement caused the tightness to coil in Zack's belly. Zack knew that he had to take his time, but he was starting to get anxious himself.

~ _calm down~_

Cloud rubbed against him again and he felt the wetness of his excitement.

~ _make him scream your name again~_

His inner thoughts were not helping him calm down. He had to pull away and reach for the bottle of lube.

Cloud moved impatiently against him as Zack handed him the bottle. "Hold this," Zack said and kissed Cloud's already swollen lips. Cloud's pale fingers grabbed the bottle and looked at him with wide eyes. Zack positioned himself a little lower so that he could reach down between his legs easier. He gave Cloud a little tug and was rewarded by thrusting hips and a panting gasp of his name.

"You drive me nuts," Zack said.

"You're teasing me," Cloud whined.

"Turnabout is fair play." Zack moved his hand and squeezed Cloud's tight balls to get another squeak out of him. "Open it," Zack whispered, squeezing a little harder. He was pleased to not only have Cloud pressing against him again, but toss his head back with the most pleasure-filled moan rumbling from his throat.

~ _just give up trying to tease him~_

Cloud shook as he tried to open the bottle. Brilliant blue eyes focused on the cap and then the label. "Cherry?" A strange smile crossed Cloud's face.

"Don't like cherry?" Zack asked as he moved his hand to touch that puckering hole. He allowed his finger to circle it.

"Did you…ah…you buy-y this on purpose?" Cloud squirmed against his finger, but complied and flipped the bottle open.

"Yeah," Zack hummed against Cloud's ear.

~ _flavours are more fun~_

Cloud chuckled.

~ _he picks the strangest times to laugh~_

"What's so funny?" he said and gripped his delicate sac a little forcefully.

Cloud made a startled gasp, and he bucked his hips. The laughing was replaced with a lustful moan of the word 'cherry'.

~ _deflower. Pop his cherry~_

Zack groaned.

~ _don't be so dense~_

"I should have just gone to the drugstore and got plain stuff."

Cloud kissed Zack's lips in a gentle manner. "What store did you go to?"

~ _time for a distraction~_

He pressed his finger against the entrance without penetrating it. "This is what you want, isn't it?"

Cloud nodded and moaned. "Please."

Zack removed his hand and brought it up to Cloud. "Put some lube on my fingers."

Cloud obliged. Zack felt the cool gel go onto his fingers.

~ _relax~_

"That's good for now," Zack said when Cloud kept squeezing the bottle. "Keep it handy, though."

"Uh," was the only sound that Cloud seemed to be able to get out of his mouth, as that lithe body shivered with lust.

Zack moved his lubed fingers down. Zack pressed his lips against those moaning ones. He didn't want to waste any more time in getting the eager young man ready to go.

Cloud was very tense.

"You need to relax," Zack purred.

Cloud made a small gasping sound. "Cold." Cloud spread his legs a little wider, to allow Zack access; he was obviously trying to relax.

Zack rubbed his finger against the tight little opening. Cloud twisted his hips slightly and tossed his head back and forth. Zack nuzzled into the soft blond hair, and whispered into his ear. "Do you want it?"

Cloud made a positive grunt as Zack twirled his finger teasingly. Zack's own erection was throbbing, and painfully pressing against his boxers. He wanted Cloud; he wanted to feel him writhing beneath him.

"Damn it, Zack," Cloud muttered as he grit his teeth. "Please."

Zack smiled and obliged.

He pushed a finger into the tight little hole.

~ _so tight~_

Cloud thrust his hips forward with a grunt. Cloud's own erection was twitching anxiously against his belly. The tip was leaking as Zack twirled his finger inside the man.

 _~think how good it'll feel when you are in him~_

Zack shuddered, and pushed his finger deeper.

Cloud gasped and made a startled sound.

"Are you okay?" Zack said, and slowed his movements. He remembered the first time being so precarious between pain and pleasure. He wanted to make sure that Cloud only got pleasure.

Cloud's eyes were glazed over. "Oh, yeah," Cloud breathed and closed his mouth onto Zack's. He muttered against his lips. "Don't stop."

It took a lot of control for Zack to stop from forcing another finger in. Cloud was still too tight with the one finger. He wasn't ready for the next one, as much as he wanted to hurry it…

~ _get inside~_

…along.

Zack curled his finger, and Cloud gave out a startled, yet pleasured scream. This time Zack did not stop as he stroked his finger against the spot that caused the scream.

"Zack!"

~ _he screamed your name, again~_

"How does that feel?" Zack whispered near his ear. He stroked his inner spot again.

Cloud made a series of inarticulate sounds. Cloud's hips moved forcefully forward; his hand gripped the sheets; his back arched; his beautiful, throbbing cock burst over his smooth white belly.

~ _you made him come with a finger~_

Zack slowed his motions and let the enthralled young man come down from the orgasm that had coursed through his body. He kept moving his finger, relishing how the body squeezed his smaller digit.

~ _wait until you can feel it on your bigger one~_

Zack quickly kissed Cloud's breathless mouth. Zack was hurting now; he was hurting so bad, and his body was screaming from watching Cloud orgasm.

"Relax, Cloud," Zack hummed against his mouth that was trying to still catch his breath.

"Zack," Cloud said, as he let out a sated breath.

Zack realized that Cloud was more relaxed now, despite the mess that he had just made. "There you go," Zack said as he moved another finger in. "Still so tight."

Zack worked faster in preparing Cloud. Once both his fingers moved in easily, he started to spread his fingers apart. Cloud continued to make wonderfully lust-filled noises.

~ _loud~_

Cloud's hand was now grabbing at Zack's boxers. Zack had been so focused on preparing Cloud, that he was not aware that Cloud was almost hard again.

"Want to," Cloud rasped. "Zack!"

Zack refrained from ripping off his boxers and throwing them across the room, before pouncing on the young man. He pulled his fingers out and was pleased to hear the disappointed groan from Cloud.

Zack stretched over to his end table to grab a condom from the package. Cloud took it as an invitation to start tugging at his boxers, and a fevered hand quickly surrounded Zack's member.

"Easy," Zack hissed.

~ _gotta stay cool or you're gonna blow before you even get in~_

Zack ripped open the package with his teeth and took out the piece of latex. Cloud's eyes were wide.

"You need to let go," Zack said as he looked down at the hand that gripped him.

Cloud blinked and complied, but still stared at him. Cloud visibly swallowed as he looked at Zack's stiff member. He had a worried look on his face. "Will it fit?" Cloud whispered.

Zack rolled the condom on his cock, and that sparkle returned to Cloud's eyes again. "It won't hurt. My fingers didn't hurt, did they?"

The drying cum on Cloud's belly was evidence that he certainly enjoyed it.

"But you are…are big." Cloud flushed as he said that.

Zack leaned in and kissed Cloud, almost chastely. "Relax. I'll be gentle."

Cloud shivered and seemed to calm at the words.

Zack motioned toward the bottle of lube that was near Cloud's hand. "Lube me up."

Cloud's eyes grew wide again, as he quickly grabbed the bottle. Zack revelled in how he saw an anxious quake in those fingers as they opened the cap again and squeezed out some of the cherry lube onto his hand.

Cloud reached forward and Zack hissed as the gel was cool, but it did nothing to cool his raging and stiff erection. After a couple of strokes he had to grab Cloud's arm for him to stop.

"Lie back," Zack said, after he regained control. "I want to see you when I make you come again."

Cloud's chest heaved, and a soft moan escaped his tempting lips. Zack twisted out of his boxers and moved to position himself between those slender legs. He lifted Cloud's legs on to each of his shoulders so that the exercised entrance was exposed to him. Cloud was hard and ready to go once again.

Cloud was looking up to him with large blue eyes that held a mix of lust and fear.

~ _make it good~_

Zack leaned forward, pushing his tongue into his partner's mouth in a heavy kiss, as he folded the flexible young man in half.

"I'll make it good," Zack whispered as he leaned back. He twirled the head of his cock against the small dark hole. Cloud arched his back, which made Zack want to just thrust all the way in. He pulled back gently, however.

"I'll take it slow," Zack whispered.

Cloud panted. "Hurry up with it then!" Those blue eyes were focused on him, and there was frustration written all over his face. Zack chuckled and gave in to his own urges, as well as Cloud's. He pushed his slick head in.

~ _heaven~_

Zack panted and closed his eyes. The warm body beneath was everything that he had fantasised about the whole week, and more. He was so warm and snug…

~ _and needy~_

He wanted to bury himself in a quick stroke and have him completely. He took in a shaky breath and opened his eyes again. Cloud looked at him anxiously as Zack pushed forward gently, and with care. Cloud's eyes grew wider and a pleasing tune of passion rose to his ears. Cloud's pushed against him, forcing Zack to move in a little more.

~ _Damn it, he's going to make me_ _lose_ _it_ _too_ _soon~_

Cloud's eyes grew wide and made a small startled yelp.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked and stopped moving.

Cloud groaned. "Don't stop!" Cloud's raised his hips and pushed his legs hard against Zack's shoulders. Zack had to use a lot of control at the command the younger man gave. The panting, sweating young man was so impatient, and was testing his stamina.

~ _doesn't act like a virgin now,_ _either_

Zack pulled back a bit and then slid further in. The warmth of the man beneath him made him want to push in further, as he tried hard not to let his carnal urges take over.

~ _want it to be good~_

Cloud started to murmur Zack's name while he tossed his head. A few slow and easy thrusts, and Zack was fully seated inside of him.

~ _absolute bliss~_

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the tightness surrounding him. He revelled in the warm feeling of completely filling Cloud. Everything was perfect. He opened his eyes and looked down at the beautiful man. Zack ran his hands up and down the legs that were pressed against him and felt them quiver. Cloud's breathing evened out as he became familiar with Zack inside of him. Zack would have stayed still for longer if that warm body didn't shift beneath him.

"Move!" Cloud demanded with fire in his eyes.

Zack chuckled and opened his eyes. "As you wish." He moved slowly, pulling nearly all the way out before sinking back in. Zack loved how Cloud's face looked. His eyes were wide with pleasure, and his mouth was in the shape of an 'o', as Zack moved within him.

"Like that?" Zack asked.

Cloud started to make those inarticulate sounds again. The low grunts and gasps for air were making it hard to keep steady and smooth motions, but he found his pace, and the grunts matched his thrusts.

~ _that is so a yes~_

Zack started to move faster as the tightness began to loosen slightly. Cloud's legs pushed against Zack's chest, trying to match the rhythm of his thrusts. The sounds of their flesh hitting together meshed with the moaning, and it filled the room.

~ _music to my ears~_

Zack knew he wasn't going to last much longer and he wanted to see Cloud come again. He moved a hand, which had been gripping those legs pressed against his shoulders, and reached down to grip the fully excited blond.

He didn't think Cloud could make more noise. His moans switch to a higher pitch of passion, and his movements increased. Zack realized that some of those noises that were echoing in the room were his. He was starting to feel his control going as he raggedly pumped his hand around Cloud's cock, and his hips couldn't move to match, either. His control was nearly shattered.

"Zack!"

~ _I could make him scream my name all night!~_

Zack didn't yield. He saw the body beneath him arch; he tossed his head back in a breathless throw of passion and felt Cloud's insides grip him impossibly tight, as Cloud came again. The tight hole quivered around him as Cloud's member twitched as he exploded in Zack's hand. The tension that was coiled in his stomach was almost unbearable.

~ _too much~_

With Cloud pressing against him, he was pushed over the edge. Zack gasped as he gave one last deep thrust, and was lost in the wave of passion. Zack's muscles froze, trying to understand the blissful feeling that was consuming him.

Zack's moans mingled with Cloud's. Zack was never one to be loud, but it was pretty hard to be quiet with someone as loud as Cloud. Zack opened his eyes and examined the man beneath him. Cloud still looked like he was trying to control his breathing. His face was flushed and some of his wild blond hair was sticking to the side of his face.

~ _more adorable than ever~_

Cloud looked up at him with hooded blue eyes, and a relaxed smile took over his face. He unhooked Cloud's legs from his shoulders, as he placed his fingers on the condom. He slowly pulled out with a hiss, and this made Cloud whimper.

Cloud was a mess; his belly and chest displaying how much he had enjoyed himself. "Wow," Cloud whispered in a hoarse voice. "That was wonderful."

"Would you expect any less?" Zack joked.

"Nuh-huh," Cloud said, and stretched out on the bed, absentmindedly rubbing his hip.

Zack smiled as he leaned forward to give him a kiss. "I'll go get a cloth to clean you up," Zack said and walked to his bathroom.

Cloud nodded, and smiled.

Zack hurried and disposed of the condom. He cleaned himself up quickly, and took a damp cloth back into the bedroom. Cloud was still lying there and looking a little bashful and slightly embarrassed at the mess on his chest and belly. Zack lay beside him and gently rubbed the cloth over Cloud in gentle, smooth strokes. The motions seemed to relax Cloud further as the flush left him, and he seemed to sink into the bed.

Zack doubted that he had ever seen Cloud looked so calm, and relaxed. Cloud usually had his guard up about something, or there was always something that he was worried about. He was grateful that he was able to take those worries away from him.

~ _keep them away forever, if I could~_

He realized that Cloud had been smiling a lot lately, and he liked that. He still had his moody moments, but there were a lot more smiles coming from the man, now. And Zack realized that he was smiling a lot more than he had in a while, as well.

~ _lots of smiles~_

He nestled himself beside Cloud and pulled the covers over the both of them. Cloud pressed against him and wrapped his arms around him in a clinging manner. "That was wonderful," Cloud whispered.

"You said that already," Zack chuckled into the messy blond hair.

"Well, it needed to be said again," Cloud said in a now sleepy voice.

Zack hummed as they moved into a comfortable position. Cloud looked like he was starting to doze. Zack doubted that he had felt this level of contentment in a long while, as well.

"Wished ya woulda stocked up sooner," Cloud mumbled against his chest.

"So do I," Zack said and watched as Cloud fell into a satisfied sleep.

* * *

….so, do you like it…I thought about stopping at the point where he went into the drawer… but I knew I would get weapons thrown at me for teasing so much! And, I didn't want to stop it this time, either.

Well… since I gave so much in this chapter… I will tease you all with the next chapter's title… **DRAWER.** (I know you are all wondering what else is in that bedside table)

Read and review… thanks in advance.

For all those Canadians out there, Happy Thanksgiving!


	21. Drawer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

Zack and Cloud! Two chapters in a row!

I must be sick or something… or maybe I am feeling the love of all you guys out there…

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks….

I don't this chapter is as dramatic as the last one, but I have returned to my teasing roots, yet again.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **DRAWER**

* * *

Cloud felt sore, but wonderful. He opened his eyes to the familiar room and looked over to the sleeping form beside him.

Zack looked magnificent sleeping there. He had a smile on his face and his head was turned slightly towards him.

~ _absolutely gorgeous~_

Cloud smiled as he examined Zack. His hair was wilder than normal, and lay in random spikes around his face. His smooth jaw line, slightly parted lips, hell, even the slope of his nose was kissable. Zack's eyes were closed and his dark lashes lay against his sun kissed skin. Cloud wanted to run his fingers over those thin, dark eyebrows and smooth skin, but refrained. He did move an errant spike from the cheeks of the satisfied looking SOLDIER, however.

Cloud shifted and groaned. He had never had such a rigorous _workout_ before.

~ _didn't know you could fold in half, either~_

Cloud rubbed one of his hips. He didn't think he was that flexible, and didn't think that position was possible, either.

~ _glad it was, though~_

He did not expect it to be that intense. He knew that it was going to be good, it was Zack after all, but he never imagined the intensity or the pleasure that he experienced. He had been a little embarrassed when he came, just from Zack stroking that spot inside of him, and he couldn't hold himself back. Zack didn't seem to notice his embarrassment, or he didn't care. Zack had seemed quite content to continue what he was doing, despite the fact that he already blew his load all over his belly.

It was good.

~ _Never felt anything so good in my life~_

Of course, it was the first time that he had ever had sex. Zack had kept his promise and made sure that it was good for him. Blow and hand jobs had nothing on being folded in half and being impaled on that stiff cock of the SOLDIER.

~ _so very good~_

He stretched and moved slightly away from Zack. He had to go to the bathroom, but at the same time he didn't want to leave the bed. He was warm, comfortable and content right now, but his bladder was ruining it for him, and then his stomach rumbled to throw in its protest, as well.

He took another longing look at the man. With a resigned sigh, he slid out of the warm comfortable bed and went to the bathroom to take care of his bladder.

Or at least that is what he was trying to do. It hurt to walk and he ended up stiffly trying to walk without wincing too much. He was grateful that Zack was sleeping as he waddled to the bathroom. He didn't want Zack to laugh at him. He groaned as he moved, but he made it.

He didn't know how to describe the discomfort. It hurt, but it was also an unanticipated, yet nice reminder of the night before. It was almost like the feeling that one would get from a long stretch, or a rigorous workout. But, of course, this was better.

After he finished in the bathroom, he wandered to the kitchen and took an apple from the fridge to tide him over. He stretched a bit as he ate, to get rid of some of the ache. His hips still hurt a bit from being folded like that. He would have to make sure that he stretched more at the gym, so that his hips wouldn't be as stiff, if they did that position again.

~ _gotta try other positions first~_

He could get used to this. He smiled to himself as he chewed on the apple.

Coming to join ShinRa and trying to become a SOLDIER was the best thing that he had ever done in his life. He knew that he had done it for some pretty pathetic reasons, as he had been tired of the bullies of his home town, berating him because he didn't have a father. It wasn't his fault that he didn't have a father. He didn't have a choice in that matter and his mom was doing the best she could. Tifa had sort of been his friend. He had been so childish in telling her that he would come back a hero; a SOLDIER. It made him feel like he had to prove himself to her; he was going to prove himself to the whole town. He was going to go back as a SOLDIER, and then leave again. There really was nothing in that town for him, and everything he could ever want was here, with ShinRa.

~ _Zack~_

He still wanted to prove himself to his mother. She counted. He wanted to be able to prove that he was more than that wimpy, scrawny kid that was always getting picked on. He had to prove to his mother that she did raise a decent boy, and that he wasn't just a bastard, like the town called him. He would be able to take her out of that town and set her up in Midgar. He would take care of his mother and take her away from the town full of pompous assholes that had hurt them both.

When he joined ShinRa, people didn't judge him the same way that he had been judged back in Nibelheim. Of course, he still had to deal with a few assholes, but he was able to handle them. It would be better here, for both of them.

He had real friends…

~ _and a lover too~_

…that cared about him.

He finished his apple, and threw the core in the garbage. He pushed out all those negative thoughts and stiffly walked back to the bedroom. He wanted to be beside Zack again, and was amused that he was still sleeping. The smile returned to Cloud's face as he saw that Zack had not moved, and still lay with that blissful…

~ _kissable~_

… smile on his lips.

Cloud crawled in beside the larger man, craving his warmth against him again. Thinking of sleeping in that warmth was the most comforting thought he could possibly think of. Before he could get comfortable, his hand connected with a smooth, cold container.

The cherry lube.

He smiled as he picked it up. He chuckled lightly at remembering Zack taking his time in understanding the cherry pun.

~ _Zack can be so dense at times~_

He remembered Zack changing the topic when he asked him where he bought it. It was not the type of lube that could be bought in a drugstore.

~ _they didn't have flavours there~_

He would have to ask again when Zack woke up. He leaned over to the drawer and opened it, only intending to put the lube and condoms away, but he caught a glimpse of something…

~ _shiny~_

 _…_ unusual in the drawer. "What is that?" he whispered, and opened the drawer wide so he could get a good look inside. He gasped, and pulled out what had caught his attention in the drawer.

~ _Zack is kinky~_

He held the cuffs up to the dim light in the room. He wondered what other surprises were in the drawer. He placed the cuffs on the table, beside the condoms and bottle of lube, as he peered inside again. He pulled out, what at first he thought was a dildo, but it wasn't shaped right for that. He fondled the strange object for a moment, trying to figure out how one would use the blunt, cone shaped thing that had a handle. He put that on the table, beside the cuffs and went to the next item. He didn't immediately know what it was for either, as it didn't even look like a sex toy at all. It was just a leather strap with a bunch of snaps. It was too small to be a restraint. He fiddled with the small straps until he realized what it could be used for.

~ _cock strap~_

He had never seen one of those before. Had Zack planned on using all this stuff on him? He put the strap on the table and reached inside and found a blindfold that he could see using.

~ _with the handcuffs~_

All sleepiness was leaving Cloud as he was getting wound up again when he looked at the strange supplies that Zack had stocked up on.

~ _really can sex you up now~_

He looked in the drawer and pulled out a strange silicone type covering that had small bumps over it. It fit over his finger.

~ _that would have felt real good when he was getting you ready~_

He took it off his finger and was nearly panting as he pulled out another item that was in the drawer.

~ _not sleepy anymore~_

The next item was a dildo. He wondered if there were batteries in it. It was a strange color, or maybe it was just the dim light in the room, and it was covered in ridges.

Zack sighed.

Cloud jumped, nearly dropping the toy in his hand, and looked over to the dark-haired man. He was grateful that Zack was still sleeping. He tried to catch his breath and realized that he had nearly emptied the drawer of all of Zack's _toys_ out onto the end table. He quickly put them back into the drawer and closed it.

~ _didn't know Zack was so kinky~_

Cloud took a couple of deep breaths before he crawled over to Zack again and pressed against him. Cloud was hard again. He didn't think it was possible to be turned on so much, or to be ready to go again, but those toys…

~ _wanna play again~_

Cloud ran his hands over the taut belly of the SOLDER. Cloud admired his perfect, flawless skin.

~ _except his ear~_

Cloud examined the ear that he had been chewing on earlier. He must have been chewing a little hard because he could see a tooth mark in the lobe, and it looked a little red. Zack had not complained. He moved the hand from Zack's warm belly and touched his ear. Zack made a soft sound; a soft sigh of contentment. Cloud moved the hand back down to Zack's muscular chest. He was so warm. Zack's lips moved, and his tongue peaked out slightly to dampen his upper lip.

~ _damn it~_

Cloud rested his head against Zack's chest so he could hear his healthy, strong heart beating in it. He ran his hand up and down his muscular chest. Zack felt so good. He kissed the nub that was near his mouth. It tightened quickly beneath his lips.

~ _hot~_

He looked down Zack's body. He could see that Zack was starting to tent the sheets. He closed his eyes and tried to control a shudder, thinking about how filling and thrilling it had felt inside of him. He couldn't believe that he had been worried, he knew how big Zack was before they had sex.

~ _you blew him~_

He was able to take him into his mouth and swallow him. He had acted like a fool when Zack had put the condom on. Zack had seemed amused and had proven to him that he fit just right.

He ran his hand in small circles, making his way down from Zack's chest to his belly. Zack's chest movements increased slightly but Zack gave no other notion that he was waking yet. Cloud kissed his chest again. Cloud pressed his groin against the SOLDIER's thigh, pleased with how it felt to rub against his slightly rough skin. Zack's _tent_ twitched under the blanket. Cloud chewed his lips.

~ _mine~_

Cloud moved himself down and pulled the sheet back from Zack's body. Cloud's roaming hand moved down to Zack's hip. He levered himself so that he was over the semi-erect cock. He looked up at the sleeping man and wondered how he would react to this...

~ _only one way to find out~_

He moved his mouth down and took the heart shaped cap into his mouth and sucked lightly. He kept his eye on Zack, who made a small moan, and turned his head to the side slightly. He allowed his tongue to twirl around the ridges as he applied more suction.

Zack's hips bucked slightly. Cloud took the now fully erect member deeper into his mouth, swirling his tongue along a throbbing vein. Cloud looked up again as Zack gasped. Those violet-blue eyes opened and looked down at him, and a soft and confused voice came to his ear. "Cloud?"

Cloud hummed and their eyes met, but he didn't stop his movements. Zack blinked a few times and his hands moved. One of those sword-calloused hands moved to Cloud's hair, and the other clutched the sheets.

"What are you doing?" Zack said.

Cloud chuckled and took him deeper into his mouth, relaxing his throat. Zack's hand tugged gently at his hair.

"Damn it, Cloud," Zack muttered; his voice was rough. Zack turned his head to the side and closed his eyes, his dark hair becoming more mussed as he tossed his head.

~ _sexy~_

Cloud continued the motions, concentrating on taking him all the way into his throat, and keeping his breathing regular as his nose went into the dark crown of hair. He kept his hand pressed against Zack's hip to try to keep some of his thrusting under control. Zack was going to come soon. Zack was starting to whimper and his fingers tugged at Cloud's hair even harder. Cloud heard his name being uttered as a warning. Cloud quickened his pace and sucked harder.

Zack's hips lifted, and a deep growl filled the room. Zack's other hand joined the one tugging on Cloud's hair, and now pushed down as if to make sure that Cloud could not pull way. Cloud held the throbbing and spurting member in his mouth while trying to swallow the salty emission, but he had to breathe. Zack was holding him too tight. He was able to swallow, but he had to twist his head to catch a breath. Zack was still pulsing inside his mouth and some of it leaked onto his chin.

Zack calmed and released his head with a sort of muttered apology that Cloud ignored. Cloud pulled up wiping his chin, and moved up Zack's shivering body to lie beside him again.

"That was a hell of a wake-up call," Zack whispered, and reached out to him. Cloud smiled, and as what started out as a gentle kiss, turned into a fight for dominance; their tongues stroking and fighting over entrance.

Cloud pulled away, gasping for air. He didn't realize that he was pushing against Zack's thigh until a hand grasped around him and tugged in a rough manner. Cloud just moaned. No matter how harsh it may have initially been, Zack's touch was always good.

After rooting through all those…

~ _tantalizing~_

 _…_ sex toys and the act of giving Zack the blow job, it didn't take but a few more strokes before he came. Again. It hurt a bit as he did so, and he curled into Zack as he shuddered in release. He didn't think it was possible to have three orgasms in one night, but he had done it.

~ _almost too much~_

Cloud caught his breath, and he then became aware that he had come all over Zack's leg. Zack easily reached to the cloth that he had used earlier, and cleaned it up without so much as a word. He wasn't bothered, so Cloud tried not to be embarrassed about it, and reached down for the sheet so that they were covered once again.

Zack gave a low chuckle. "When you want something, you go for it, don't you?" Zack said and pulled him close.

Cloud found himself cuddling against Zack's chest, feeling sleep tugging at him again. "Uh-huh," he said sleepily. "Next time, we can use the other stuff in your drawer."

He heard Zack's heart start to race in his chest, and his arm gripped him tight.

"Damn it," he heard Zack mutter. Cloud was too sleepy to ask him why he was cussing again.

* * *

I didn't say that they were going to use anything from the drawer… I just said what the name of the chapter was… (insert evil laughter here)

That will have to wait for other chapters…man, it is so much fun being evil! Sorry, I hope you all still love me out there…


	22. Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

Consequences for Reno…

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **PUNISHMENT**

* * *

Reno wanted to sit alone.

He sipped a bitter, cooling cup of coffee and sat in the far corner of the quickly filling lunch room. He didn't even know why he had bothered to enter the room, when he wanted in no way interact with the rest of the Turks. He would have preferred to stay curled up in his bed and ignore the cruel world.

~ _especially Sissy~_

He was wallowing in his own misery, and he was not sure how to deal with how everything had been turning against him lately.

~ _how did it come down to this?~_

Saturday night was a horrible mess, which left him disgruntled and edgy. He had phoned his few _regulars_ , and not a single one had returned his call. He got pissed off, shut off his phone, and seeing that there was no other option, he had been forced to take matters into his own hands.

~ _literally~_

He stayed home all of Sunday, thinking about how terrible it was to be iholed up in his apartment, alone, after all that teasing. Rufus had done it on purpose. The Brat was going to pay, once he figured out how he was going to retaliate. Reno was also determined to find a way to torture the two spike-brains. They did not have to kiss in front of him like that, and have the audacity to throw it in front of his face as they left Monteno's. It was those two flirty idiots' fault that he was wound up so tight, anyway.

~ _and then there was Sephiroth~_

Reno held back a groan at the thought of the silver-haired General. He had been trying - very hard - to forget how it felt to be brutally pushed up against that wall, feeling the full length of the General's body pressed against him. Reno tried not to remember how he had been unable to stop the groan when Sephrioth breathed that threat into his ear.

~ _so_ _fuckin'_ _hot~_

Way too hot. He was the General. The General never lost his cool. Reno wondered what had set off 'Mr. Frost', as he should be called. Reno knew that it couldn't be _just_ his smokes. Reno prided himself on pissing people off, but even he knew that Sephiroth was not one to push too hard. Maybe he did press a little hard, after all, he poked the General. That was a little bit reckless.

~ _extremely stupid thing to do~_

Of course, Sephiroth was a little edgy…

~ _frustrated~_

…at dinner. He wondered why? He would have to ask Zack if he knew what was bothering Sephiroth.

But that wasn't Reno's biggest worry. He was concerned that Sephiroth seemed to have known about Rufus and his _teasing_ inclinations. Sephiroth had even taunted him with the knowledge, even had the tenacity to look amused at how flustered Reno became.

~ _it's just_ _easier to hate all men~_

Cissnei came and sat beside him.

~ _and her too~_

She smiled brightly at him and gave him a way too cheery 'good morning'. She was enjoying his misery all too much, and still seemed to be enjoying taunting him.

"I hate you," he grumbled at her and slouched further in his chair.

"I know," she said, just as cheerfully as her greeting. "How was your weekend?"

He glared at her as she sipped her coffee. At least she could have brought him a new one; his was cold. "Why do ya care, Sissy?" he muttered.

"Cissnei," she corrected him, like clockwork. "Don't really care. Just need something to make it through the Monday."

"Glad to make your day, Sissy." He glowered at her. She had a silly smile on her face as she sipped her steaming coffee. He narrowed his eyes at her; she was way too happy for a Monday.

"What did ya do?" he ventured. Not that he really cared, but he had a sneaky suspicion that it was something that _he_ didn't _get_ on the weekend. Before she could answer, he blurted, "Did you get laid?"

"None of your business!" she exclaimed, and glared at him. He doubted that he had ever seen her face turn so red before.

~ _Was EVERYONE else getting some action? Even_ _prissy little Sissy_ _got laid!~_

"Then don't bring up the weekend!" he snapped and took a drink of his coffee, grimacing at the plain - and now cold - drink. He needed his flask, which was currently hiding in his desk.

"What the hell is up your butt?" she snapped back at him.

"That is the fuckin' problem! Nothin'." Reno realized what he said, once he saw the look on Sissy's face twist into one of great amusement.

~ _stupid mouth~_

He watched as the slim woman burst into giggles so vicious, that she was forced to put her drink down before she slopped it over her hands.

"Laugh it up, yo," Reno grumbled, and narrowed his eyes at her.

Damn woman was still giggling, when Rude walked over. He had his phone firmly in his hand, and a concerned look on his face. He was grateful to see his partner. Rude was a good reason to ignore Sissy; she was way too happy at his misery.

~ _and she got laid, too. She was able to get what you can't~_

"You haven't been answering your phone," Rude said, always straight to the point.

"No good mornin' or anythin'?" Reno said, looking up at the stern face.

"No," Rude said. "Is there something wrong with your phone?"

"Nope," Reno said and took another drink. He grimaced. He pushed the cup away from him so that he would remember that he needed a new cup, and would have to add a little bit of _flavouring._ He knew that it was still too early to _technically_ start drinking, but he didn't care that it was not even nine in the morning yet.

"Then why haven't you answered your phone?" Rude stood there and looked down at him with those damn sunglasses, and sternly gritted teeth.

"Turned it off, yo," he said. "Someone," he said, and looked over to Sissy, "has been sending me way too many texts." It was one of the reasons he shut off his phone.

She just smiled.

~ _hate her soooooooooo much~_

"Turn it on," Rude said.

"Don't wanna," Reno said, realizing that he had crossed his arms and was looking away from Rude.

~ _pouting like a child~_

"Turn. On. Your. Phone."

"No!"

Reno looked up at Rude and tried to stare him down. An impossible task, but he tried. Reno did not last long before he resigned with a sigh, and reached into his pocket. "Damn you, yo," he grumbled and turned on his phone.

It rang as soon as it started up.

Rude closed his own phone and tucked it into his jacket, "Tseng is wishing to speak with you."

The words **'Boss Man'** flashed on the call display. He let the phone ring.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Sissy said.

"Don't wanna," Reno said as he stared at the phone.

"Answer it," Rude demanded.

"Don't. WANNA!"

"Quit being a baby," Sissy said. "What did you do to piss him off?"

"Nothin'," Reno muttered. He knew that he was going to get ripped a new one over the shopping trip. He was going to have to explain those clothes to Tseng, and then of course, having his phone off was a big 'no-no', too.

Rude stood, unmoving and seemingly unimpressed.

Reno sighed as the phone stopped ringing and started to beep at him.

"You can't hide from him forever," Sissy said.

"Wanna see me try?" Reno said. He wondered how long it would be before they would drag him up to Tseng's office. He figured he had until noon.

Rude crossed his arms, still giving off the silent demand by his stance.

The phone started to ring in his hand again.

"Answer the damn phone." Rude was looking pissed. It took a lot for Rude to get pissed and he seemed to be on the verge of scowling.

~ _that would be thirty-two times, if I got him to scowl~_

"Alright, alright," he mumbled, knowing that if he _did_ make Rude scowl, it usually some extra paperwork being dropped on his desk, in retaliation. He flipped open the phone and held it to his ear, "Yo. Reno here."

" _Reno_ ," Tseng's voice cut through him. Tseng was angry, and it was directed at him. " _My office. Ten minutes. Do NOT be late."_

~ _my life sucks~_

He snapped his phone shut and looked at the two amused faces. "You both can go screw yourselves," he said and stood.

He saw Sissy blush, and give a shy look that was directed at Rude.

~ _Holy crap!~_

He looked over at his bald partner and saw a small smile on his lips. Rude never smiled like that, unless _he_ got laid.

~ _no way!~_

"Yo! Really," he said and looked between both of them. "Really. You two got laid. With each other? Yo, what the hell?" he said and pushed Sissy's shoulder. Her face turned almost as red as his hair, as his partner shrugged and pushed up his glasses.

"Don't be a jerk!" Cissnei yelled at him.

"Get out of here," Rude said. "If I get another call from Tseng, I will drag your bony ass up there and leave you there to rot."

~ _no_ _denials_ _there~_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Reno said looking at the two of them, who were now standing side by side. He never would have thought of them together. Reno smirked as he looked at the two. He focused on Rude. "I've seen ya in the shower, yo," Reno said as he started to walk away. "I'm amazed Sissy can walk."

Reno had to dodge a flying coffee cup.

* * *

Reno had been standing there for five minutes, staring at Tseng tapping away at the computer. The only thing that Tseng said, when he entered the room, was for him to stand and be quiet.

And for once, he actually obeyed. Not being able to talk was killing him.

Tseng's fingers stopped tapping on the keyboard. Tseng leaned back in his office chair, and Reno felt Tseng's dark eyes focus on him.

~ _yep, gonna be guarding the dump~_

"You did not answer your phone yesterday," Tseng said in a clipped tone.

"Was busy," he lied. Lying in bed and dreaming about SOLDIERS and SOLDIER-wannabes…

~ _don't forget about the Brat~_

… and wanking off really doesn't constitute as 'busy'.

Tseng didn't let any emotion show on his face. His voice was low, almost threatening, "We have to rectify this billing situation."

"Ya looked good in that suit, yo," Reno said. "Should change up yer style from time to time."

Tseng ignored the comment.

~ _Boss doesn't know how to take a compliment~_

"You were lax in your duties, as well," Tseng said. "You were distracted."

~ _hot SOLDIERS in the other room, of course I was distracted~_

"It was a lame-ass assignment," Reno said, relaxing his stance. He remembered Tseng agreeing with him on that.

"It doesn't matter. I still expect you to perform, at all times, as a Turk," Tseng said, and stood. "That red suit was not Turk issue."

"It was much hotter," Reno said.

Tseng's eyes narrowed, and Reno saw his jaw clench.

~ _really pissing him off~_

Tseng took in a deep, calming breath. "You are lucky that Rufus was quite pleased with how the evening went."

~ _damn teasing Brat was pleased, huh?_ _Wish I was_

"Or your punishment would be more severe," Tseng continued.

~ _here we go~_

"First, your next pay check will be docked."

Reno had been expecting that.

"Second, you will attend some extra training to help you focus a little better."

Training? He wasn't that expecting that.

"You will train every day for two hours at the four a.m. boot camp at Sector 3 centre. You WILL attend, and complete said boot camp."

Reno opened his mouth to protest, but Tseng raised his hand. Reno shut his mouth closed with a click of teeth.

"At least seven days of that should ensure that your attention will be back to where it belongs."

~ _doubt it~_

"Third, you will have the in-house surveillance duties, until I decide to change them. I believe the Mess will be a good place for you to work."

~ _not much better than the dump~_

"Rude will be reassigned to Cissnei for this time, so do not worry about your partner."

~ _great, they can go at it like rabbits, now~_

"You really should think twice, before you do such..." Tseng hesitated a bit. "Silly actions."

"Yeah, well, it was a good idea at the time," Reno said.

~ _it was worth seeing Cloud in those clothes~_

"You think a lot of things are ' _good at the time_ '," Tseng said, and took a step forward. Reno grinned at him.

"It's what makes me such a great guy," Reno said with a smirk.

Tseng sighed and rubbed that dot on his forehead.

~ _that is now the two hundredth and thirty-eighth time I've made him do that~_

"You are dismissed."

Reno slouched and turned to walk out. He thought himself lucky, really. Waking up at four a.m. was going to suck, but a little training wouldn't hurt. Maybe it would tire him out, and he would be too tired to think about the SOLDIERS and the Brat.

~ _so unlikely~_

He could survive the pay cut for one month, but being on watch in the Mess Hall was going to be rough. He hated that place, with all those grunts running around and horrible smelling food. It made him ill.

~ _you will get to see Cloud~_

So maybe it wasn't going to be so bad, after all.

"Oh. Reno," Tseng said.

Reno stopped and turned. "Yeah, Boss?" Reno froze and took in a sharp breath at what he saw in Tseng's hand. He was holding his missing red tie.

"You seemed to have forgotten this in the Vice-President's limo."

Reno was still frozen.

"You wouldn't want to lose the matching tie to that expensive suit of yours," Tseng said as he walked forward holding the tie in front of him.

~ _does he know?~_

From that small twitch of Tseng's lip, Reno was pretty sure that he knew.

"Thanks," Reno said as he took the tie. Of course, he wanted to ask him if he knew that he was the Brat's _back-up plan_ all along.

"You should be careful, if you are involving yourself with Rufus," Tseng said with a smirk. "He has broken bigger men than you."

~ _what the hell was that supposed to mean?~_

Tseng's face changed to his professional one. "Report to the Mess. You will start today."

"Right, Boss," Reno said as he pocketed the red tie. Reno remembered how skilfully the Brat had removed it from him. He had to suppress a shiver at the thoughts of how it felt to have those fingers ghost over his throat.

~ _broke bigger men? Who?~_

Reno left, shutting the door behind him. He swore he heard Tseng laughing.

Reno was beginning to think that Gaia really, _really,_ hated him.

* * *

Okay, see. Not EVERYONE is gay! Just most of them!

I know. You were all expecting a scene with some toys in it, didn't you? Hey, I did warn that I was returning back to my teasing ways, after all.

Well. So, if you liked it let me know by clicking that review button at the bottom. It is the only way that the story can continue.


	23. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

A little bit of crossover with the POV…Zack and then Cloud…

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **RED**

* * *

He was seeing red, and it was not just Reno's hair.

Zack had come down to the Mess to grab something to eat. He often came down to join the lower classes and infantrymen; it raised the morale to see a First Class joining in with the 'common' folk. It was fun to eat with them, and honestly, Zack liked the food. He didn't care that everyone thought it was gruel. It was warm, greasy and bad for him; that was what made it so great.

Also, it was a place where he could sit and talk with Cloud and his friends. Sometimes, that was the only way that he could see his…

~ _lover~_

…friend.

But today, Reno was hovering over Cloud. Reno had his hand on the back of Cloud's chair, and the other pressed against a tilted hip. His head was dipped slightly as he talked to Cloud, while Cloud's head was tilted up, exposing his throat with an amused smile on his lips.

~ _that smile is mine~_

Cloud was sitting between his two friends, Joseph and John. John, Zack liked. He was a straight cut guy that was bound to make it into SOLDIER. Joseph, Zack did not like. Joseph was a flitting moron, in his opinion. When he was on duty, he could blend in with the infantrymen. However, it didn't excuse his obvious flamboyance off-duty. But now, he wasn't wearing his eyeliner or lip gloss, and his normal wild blue hair was in a tight pony tail. But he was still a moron, and his hands were on Cloud way too much.

~ _it's Reno's hands you need to worry about, now~_

He refrained from dashing over and breaking the redhead's arm. The hand that had been on the back of the chair was now rubbing Cloud's shoulder. Cloud laughed slightly, and Zack heard it over the din of chatter in the room. Reno gave Cloud's shoulder a pat and started to walk away.

Zack narrowed his eyes, and followed the Turk.

Reno slunk into a corner, fiddling with a pack of cigarettes.

"Hey, Zack," he said as he noticed him. "Whatcha doing down in these dregs for?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," Zack said.

Reno smirked and leaned against the wall, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It's my job, now, yo," he snickered. "Really pissed off Boss Man."

"That doesn't explain why _you,_ are here," Zack said, poking the redhead in the chest.

"Hey!" Reno said, rubbing the spot that Zack poked. "What the hell was that for, yo?"

"Answer the question, Turk," Zack demanded. "Why were you talking to Cloud?" Zack took a wide stance and crossed his arms, as he glared at Reno.

"Geez," Reno said, smoothing out his suit, "Jus' talkin'."

"Why?"

"I was just buggin' him about your _date_ and all," Reno said with a smirk. "Relax! I was jus' complainin' about how expensive you two were."

~ _you touched him!~_

"Bugging? Why?" Zack said leaning toward Reno. He was aware that Reno had leaned away from him slightly.

"Man. I gotta have some fun 'round here, yo," Reno answered. "You may have had _fun_ , but my weekend sucked!"

Zack looked over to the table where Cloud was sitting. Joseph was whispering something in his ear, which caused Cloud to blush and push Joseph out of his chair.

~ _gonna have to teach that boy to keep his hands to himself~_

"Whoa! Calm down there, SOLDIER," Reno said with a chuckle. "Ya need to get that green demon under control, man."

"What? Green demon? What the hell are you talking about?" Zack said turning to Reno.

Reno raised both of his hands in a submissive gesture and ended up with his back against the wall. "Easy, man, okay. I know you and Cloudy had a good ol' time and all, but you're actin' like a bossy boyfriend, yo."

~ _bossy boyfriend?~_

"It's not like that," Zack denied, crossing his arms.

"Oh, I think it is _exactly_ like that," Reno said taking a step towards him. "Come on. I saw how Cloudy looked when you guys left Monteno's. He was in bliss world, and you were givin' me the evil eye, bro."

"Those clothes. Did you buy them?" Zack said, leaning into Reno again. He was beginning to feel annoyed. He gripped his arms tightly to prevent his hands from forming fists.

"Couldn't have Cloud lookin' like a slob, yo," Reno said, looking over at Cloud.

Zack looked over at the blond and saw that Cloud was giving him a curious, and serious look. He gave a little wave and Cloud waved back.

"Seen him and his buds there, checkin' out the duds at Lore's. Thought ya'd appreciate it there, Zacky-boy."

~ _he bought his pants too tight~_

"He thinks I bought them for him," Zack said, and was pleased to see that Reno looked a little bit disappointed.

"See, made ya look good, bro," Reno straightened, and fiddled with his cigarettes. "I didn't tell 'em that I bought 'em."

"Why were you at Lore's?" Zack demanded. He tried to calm down the tension that he was feeling.

~ _jealousy~_

Reno snorted. "Well, ya saw my suit, eh?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's not exactly Turk attire. Kinda changed the order that Tseng gave me. Hence, why I'm stuck in the dregs," Reno explained. "Wanted to be stylin'."

Zack snorted and uncrossed his arms. "It was a nice suit."

"Darn right! It was fuckin' hot, yo. Tseng doesn't appreciate a good thing when he sees it," Reno said, and was fiddling with something in his pocket.

Zack just shook his head at Reno. "Why must you aggravate Tseng so much?"

"Two hundred and thirty-eight times, yo," Reno said.

Zack looked at him confused, and decided not to ask what the number meant. Sometimes with Reno, it was just better not to know. If he cared so little for his life, he could keep taunting Tseng. Zack was sure that Reno would pay the price for that, eventually.

"You're being punished over a _suit?"_

"Yep," Reno said, twirling a cigarette in his fingers.

Zack snorted again. He knew that Tseng would do more than just make Reno patrol the Mess Hall. "What else is he doing to you?"

"Oh, a little bit of this and that," Reno said.

"Tseng doesn't punish lightly," Zack said.

Reno just shrugged. "Don't I know it."

Zack looked back over at the table. Joseph had his hand on Cloud's shoulder where Reno had been touching him not that long ago. Zack was going to teach that boy to stop touching what was his.

~ _possessive much?~_

"If you're done bein' all jealous, I need a smoke." Reno twirled his cigarette and nodded his head to the door.

"I am not being jealous!" He glared at the pesky redhead.

~ _denial~_

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Reno said. "I'm seein' that green-eyed monster, and Sephiroth is nowhere to be seen." Reno said smugly.

Zack rolled his eyes. "Don't let Sephiroth hear you say that."

"I plan on stayin' as far away from Mr. Frost as possible, yo," Reno said and put the cigarette to his lips.

"Am I acting that jealous?" Zack said and rubbed his face, trying to shake the tense feeling that was coiling in his chest and belly. He had never been the jealous type before.

~ _never had a reason to, before~_

"Like a wolf protectin' her pups, yo." Reno said, flicking his lighter.

Zack sighed and ran his hand over his eyes. He needed to calm down and think about how he was behaving. After all, he had harboured the thoughts of breaking Reno's arm when he touched Cloud.

~ _jealous indeed~_

Reno may be a crazy Turk, but he was still his friend. He shouldn't be harbouring such feelings towards him. He hasn't tried any moves on Cloud…

~ _what do you call that touching?~_

…and they have been friends for a couple of years. He needed to calm down and think clearly about this whole thing.

~ _lock Cloud in your closet, and it won't be a problem_

Zack shook his own thoughts out of his head.

"Comin'?" Reno said, nodding to the door again. He was getting edgy; he must be on the verge of a nic-fit.

"I don't smoke," Zack said and looked over to Cloud and his friends. Joseph was stuck in a headlock by one of the other men. Cloud was shaking his head at the scene, and it looked like no one was helping out the blue-haired boy.

"Suit yourself. Gonna go talk to Cloudy?" Reno smirked as he looked to the scene at the table, with obvious amusement.

That was why he was down here. He wanted to have lunch with him and…

~ _steal a kiss~_

…make sure that Cloud was going to make it to the extra training practice on Tuesday. He had been disappointed when it wasn't Cloud that woke him in the morning, but was his phone. He didn't like this trend of being called by Lazard and being dragged away from Cloud.

~ _couldn't play with the stuff in the drawer~_

Cloud had seemed equally disappointed in the phone call, and had even looked at the drawer with a deep frown. There was even a whine in Cloud's voice as he complained about Zack leaving early on a Sunday morning. Again. Zack had dressed and told Cloud to use anything in his apartment, and that he would call him as soon as he could. It was hard to explain that being on call, was a consequence of being a First Class SOLDIER. Cloud had so cutely pouted and pronounced that he didn't have to like it.

The mission had kept him busy until now, and he was anxious to talk to Cloud. The blond had been so disappointed and upset when he had left so abruptly. He wanted to see him before he had to go to his debriefing with Lazard.

~ _would rather be debriefing Cloud~_

Zack opened his mouth to respond to Reno, when his phone interrupted him. "Damn it," Zack muttered as Lazard's name showed up.

~ _Damn it all to Hades!~_

"Hmpf," Reno muttered around his unlit cigarette. "See ya, Zacky-boy."

Zack looked over at Cloud again with a sigh, then answered his phone.

* * *

Cloud watched as Zack and Reno talked. He was glad to see that Zack was back, and looked well. He missed Zack, even if it had only been a day.

~ _thirty hours~_

Zack had answered the phone and announced that he had to go to work. Cloud wanted to smash the phone for ruining the morning plans.

~ _didn't get to finish playing~_

He knew that missions could take him away for long periods of time, but that certainly didn't mean that he had to like it. He wanted to smash the phone so that it wouldn't interrupt them again.

Joseph leaned close to his ear. "You know, I bet those two are screwing."

"What!" Cloud yelled and pushed Joseph - a little too hard - and he toppled to the floor. "Why would you say that?"

 _~Reno was looking at his butt too~_

"Oooow," Joseph whined as he pulled himself up from the floor. John was chuckling at him as he sipped a drink.

"That's what you get for being a moron," John said without even looking at the blue-haired boy.

Cloud ignored John.

Joseph nodded in the direction where Reno and Zack were standing, after making sure to glare at John. "Oh, come on. Look at Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome over there, all jealous over Hot Stuff talking to you," Joseph said with a chuckle. "You should tell them about your sugar-daddy, so they won't get all jealous at each other."

Cloud blinked. "Whatever," he muttered as he watched his…

~ _lover~_

…friends talk tensely. Was Zack being jealous? They hadn't been together, in that way, long enough for him to notice. Zack had always been a little of the overprotective type, but he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

~ _except for the way Zack is glaring at Reno~_

He watched as Reno's hands rose in a defensive pose, while Zack seemed to be intimidating him. Reno seemed a little edgy, but then again, he looked like he was dying for a smoke.

~ _Is Zack jealous of Reno? ~_

He watched them seriously for a moment. Zack looked over at him and gave him a small smile, and a wave.

Cloud smiled and waved back, as his stomach did a little flip at the sight. He couldn't help but think of how they had kissed…

~ _and all the toys that Zack had bought~_

…and the warmth of his arms, surrounding him as he slept; never mind the other activities that he craved, now that he had a taste.

Cloud watched the conversation between the two remain serious.

"See?" Joseph said. "Zack is all jealous. Do you see the way that he is leaning into him?"  
Joseph was right. Zack did look like he was trying to threaten Reno. It really looked like Zack was jealous, or at least pissed at the redhead about something.

"I bet Reno bottoms," Joseph said and patted Cloud's shoulder.

Cloud gave Joseph a shocked look. Joseph looked with a nod towards the First and the Turk.

~ _Reno underneath Zack?~_

"Will you quit talking like that?" John said, leaning around Cloud. "All you think about is sex!"

Joseph grinned widely. "Of course. Oh, like you don't think that those two over there wouldn't be a hot couple."

~ _that would be hot~_

Cloud took in a deep breath at his betraying thoughts. It would indeed be hot. He wondered why he wasn't bothered by the idea of Zack topping the Turk. He schooled his features to look calm and make his betraying body calm down, as well. It was bad enough that he was having enough inappropriate thoughts when it came to Zack, he didn't need to add Reno into the mix.

~ _bet he would be flexible~_

"See?" Joseph said. "Cloud thinks it's hot."

Cloud blushed furiously as Joseph laughed at him.

John groaned, "You are such a perv."

"I will never deny that!" Joseph said, his hand massaging Cloud's shoulder. "Hey, Cloud, you go out with them all the time. Maybe you can join them, if you ask."

Cloud gasped.

~ _great idea, though~_

"Joseph," John whined.

Cloud was grateful at that point that Dean, their squadron's Captain, decided that he was going to pick on Joseph. He expertly put Joseph into a headlock, jerking him out of the chair with a heavy grunt.

"Hey there, Twink," Dean said, tightening his hold around Joseph's neck.

Cloud grinned as he watched the nearly daily ritual of Dean picking on Joseph. It was either a headlock, or a shove, or even hard swap on his ass. Everyone knew that Dean had it bad for Joseph, but was still too macho to admit to it.

"Bear," Joseph said, not really minding the headlock. It allowed him to push up against Dean. Joseph had it bad for Dean, as well. Dean was older by a couple of years and it showed in his size and his rank. The guy was a bear; in size and the amount of hair that he had on his body. Cloud had no idea why Joseph pined for the hairy man, but to each his own.

John snorted and rolled his eyes. "Good. Go drag the perv out of here." John enjoyed taunting the two.

"What are you perving on now?" Dean said, and looked down at Cloud. Cloud was aware that Dean saw him as a threat, even though he had already made it clear that his relationship with Joseph was not like that. Of course, the way that Joseph flirted and touched him, it wasn't a surprise.

Joseph laughed.

"He's perving on the Lieutenant and the Turk over there," Cloud pointed out.

~ _almost as bad as you are~_

Dean made a grunting noise and released Joseph from the headlock with a push. Joseph gracefully took the rough push and seated himself on the table.

"We got drills! Finish up and let's move out. You have five minutes," Dean announced.

"Yes, sir," they all said at once.

Dean turned on his heel and went to announce to the others in their troop that lunch was over.

Joseph grinned. "He held me longer that time."

Cloud and John opted to ignore Joseph's statement. There was no need to encourage his already flamboyant behaviour.

Cloud looked back at Zack who was talking on the phone, now. Reno must have ducked out for a smoke.

He was hoping to talk to Zack, but he was on his cursed phone again and was looking over at him with large apologetic eyes. Cloud waved as he stood. He saw the panicked look cross Zack's face.

Zack hurriedly started to walk towards him. Cloud couldn't help but smile at his rushed pace. Zack called out to him; Cloud stopped and waited for the First to catch up. Zack held the phone to his side. "We're still on for tomorrow night, right?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. I'll be there."

Zack smiled; he had a great smile. Cloud felt his stomach flip again. He had always liked his smiles, but there was so much more feeling behind them, now.

Cloud grinned back at him, as he took a step forward. "Regular time?"

Zack nodded. "Got some moves I want to have you try out."

Cloud blinked and shifted uncomfortably as his body reacted inappropriately at the comment. His head knew that Zack was talking about training, but his body was still in pervert mode, thanks to Joseph's comments.

Zack flushed. "Oh man. I-I didn't mean that!"

Cloud blinked, enjoying watching Zack squirm. "We can do that, too."

It was Zack's turn to shift uncomfortably.

Cloud saw that John was waving to him and giving him that 'hurry up' look. "Gotta go, Zack. Tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow," Zack said.

Cloud enjoyed that lustful look on Zack's face as he rushed to join the rest of his troop. Zack smiled brightly as he brought the phone to his ear again, and returned to his serious phone conversation.

* * *

Zack is turning into an overprotective boyfriend… oh, so jealous! Ha!

Wow, I think I just turned Cloud into a complete perv in this chapter… thinking of Reno and Zack like that… naughty, naughty, naughty.

Well, let me know what I am frustrating you about in my teasing little tale…. (other than the sexually frustrated Reno)

FYI: Twink: An attractive, boyish-looking, young gay man. The stereotypical twink is 18-22, slender with little or no body hair, dresses in club wear even at 10:00 AM, and is not particularly intelligent. A twink is the gay answer to the blonde bimbo cheerleader. I do believe that Joseph is personified as a Twink….there are more disturbing definitions out there…that has connotations to a Twinkie™ and the cream filling…. And are usually blond… I believe that can describe someone else too….


	24. Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

OMG, RENO!

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some **others** into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

 **STATS (October 2009)**

67 Story Favourites. 80 people have put my story on alert. Average about 10 reviews per chapter. A total of 240 people have felt compelled to leave me a note. 1,673 visitors and 5014 hits! Man, this makes a person feel good about their writing (since I am a number person and all) Thanks for all of you that visit and read the story, even if you are the silent type.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **PLAN**

* * *

Reno had a plan. He had thought about it all night. Of course, he was dreaming about the 'plan' when his alarm went off at three-thirty in the morning. It took him ten minutes to realize why it had went off.

~ _boot camp~_

He cursed Tseng as he went down to Sector 3 and joined the stupid boot camp. He had a plan, and he just about forgot what it was after the two hours of being put through the paces. Two hours of boot camp!

~ _more like hell~_

He didn't remember it being so hard when he was training. Of course, _everyone_ was amused by his showing up for the training session. It seemed the Drill Sergeant…

~ _demon~_

…was expecting him. He didn't like the looks that he was getting, but ten minutes in, he didn't care anymore.

His legs were numb, and his arms and shoulders ached by the time the hellish session was finished. He managed to make it to the Turk locker room, have a shower and change, as he started to remember his plan again. Thoughts of his _plan_ were the only thing that kept him moving.

He made his way to the Mess Hall to serve the next part of his sentence. He even ate there. He kind of understood now why the grunts liked the food. After that workout he was starving to death, and the horrid food actually smelled good.

He did his job. He watched and hated it. He knew all the people that trudged through. He already knew the troublemakers, and who were the bullies that were of concern. It was a stupid assignment that really was not necessary.

And Tseng knew that.

Reno knew that he would have to file a report before the end of the day, and knew that it would be filed without so much of a glance, but he had to do it. Tseng would give him more horrid things to do, if he did not perform as expected.

He went back to his corner and sulked, thinking about his plan.

He was going to go to the Spike-Brains' training session and ask to join them.

~ _didn't say it was a good plan~_

He was still working on what he was going to say and do. He had no clue how to say that he thought their kissing was hot, and that he wanted to get some of that action too. He could say it like that, but he was pretty sure that Zack would grab him by the scruff of his neck and throw him out the door.

~ _again~_

And what would Cloud say? He knew that Cloud wasn't a prude, but asking for a threesome was a little much. What would he think of that?

~ _he could hate me~_

Reno certainly didn't want that. Cloud was hot. Zack was hot. Cloud and Zack kissing was like Firaga going off in a chocobo barn.

He wondered if he could just throw himself in Cloud's lap and start to kiss him?

~ _Zack would kill you~_

He wondered if he could do that to Zack?

~ _Cloud would hate me~_

It was stupid. They were all stupid thoughts to begin with. Zack was being overprotective as it was, and if he tried to get in on the action, he was pretty sure that Zack would kill him.

~ _fuckin' depressing~_

He would just ask to join their little training sessions, not their beds, to test the grounds. That was a much better plan, even if it was going to be painful

~ _arousing~_

… being near the two sweating, hot men.

After this morning's hellish boot camp, he did not think that he would be able to even raise his EMR. Not only were his legs stiffening up, but the million push-ups they made him do made his arms feel like mush. It was an effort to have his hourly cigarette, never mind think about training.

~ _they will think you're a wuss~_

He most likely would have to put off his _plan_ , and he didn't like that thought either.

* * *

Reno had never been so happy to see his office chair before. The hours of standing in that cesspool of a Mess Hall had worn his nerves down, and his body. He didn't even get a glimpse of Cloud today, which made it so much worse. His legs were sore and stiffening from the morning torture session. His arms were so rubbery that he thought that he was going to have his hands fall off.

He collapsed into his chair with a thankful sigh, glad to see a friendly familiar face in the office.

"Hiya, partner," he called out.

Rude just nodded and went back to whatever he was reading on his computer. Reno saw that there was a pack of smokes sitting on his keyboard.

He grinned widely at the sight. They were top notch smokes; the type that were only made in Gongaga. He had been begging Zack for years to get his parents to ship back a carton or two for him.

"Hot damn!" he announced, forgetting for a moment that his arms did not rise above his head. He ran out of smokes halfway through the day, and he could really go for another one. He looked over to his partner. "Did ya leave these here?"

"I don't buy you smokes."

That was true. Rude had never bought him smokes before, even when he had begged.

"Did Zackers drop them off?"

~ _maybe he felt bad about how he talked to me yesterday~_

Rude shrugged. "Were there when I got here." Rude didn't look up from his computer. Reno shrugged; it didn't really matter anyway. Free smokes were still free smokes.

He opened the pack just to get a smell of that wonderful tobacco, when he noticed that there was writing under the tab. He didn't recognize whose script it was. It wasn't Rude's, he always printed everything; his writing was atrocious. It wasn't Zack's crazy scribbles either. The writing was smooth, controlled, and gave him a disturbing message.

' **You will need these later.'**

"What the fuck," he snapped. "What the hell is that supposed to mean!"

Rude raised his eyebrow.

"Come on! Rude, who left these here?" he demanded as he looked at the message in the smokes.

Rude shrugged and tapped at his computer.

Reno knew he wasn't going to get anything out of Rude. Rude was not one to answer questions that he already answered. It was annoying as hell, especially when he wanted to know who had left him the smokes.

~ _expensive and good smokes~_

He sighed and cooled himself down. Did it really matter who left him the smokes _?_ The message was a little creepy, but, whatever. He _would_ need these smokes later, and it saved him a trip to the store.

He closed the pack and placed it inside his blazer pocket. He had to get his silly and stupid report out of the way; he turned on his computer. It felt good sitting down, but at the same time he knew that he was going to have problems getting out of the chair.

~ _forget training with the Spike-Brains~_

He wondered if they would freak out if he just watched.

~ _or asked them to massage your aching muscles~_

He closed his eyes and took a calming breath as his body wanted to twist uncomfortably at the mental image he just created for himself. He cursed his imagination at times like these. He had a report to get to Tseng about the nonsense gossip that was going to be filed into the circular folder.

His computer made offending beeps as he opened his email. "Ah, man," he complained, as he read it. "Wha' did I do now?"

An urgent meeting request from Tseng was not how he wanted to end the day.

"There is always something," remarked Rude.

He narrowed his eyes at his partner. "You've been spending too much time with Sissy."

* * *

Reno had a paper copy of his report, even though he had sent it through the electronic filing system, as per protocol, but he wanted to make sure. He didn't know what he had done to piss off the Boss this time. He was pretty damn sure that he was suffering enough. The hour sitting at the computer had significantly stiffened the muscles in his legs, but at least his arms were getting some of the feeling back, and his shoulders didn't feel like rocks had landed on them.

He had gone through what he had done during the day, and tried to figure out what he had done to piss off Tseng. He hadn't had the time to irritate anyone today. He tried to think if there was something that could have caught up to him, but there were so many of those instances, that it could nearly be anything.

~ _perfect ending to a perfectly sucky day~_

He approached Tseng's office and thought it odd that his secretary wasn't there. She was usually a permanent fixture there. Tseng made it a policy that no one enters his office unannounced, and Mary-Beth did the announcing. He wasn't going to wait around until she returned though, as he saw that Tseng's office was open. After all, he had an appointment, and Tseng was expecting him.

Reno moved his tired legs to face the music.

"'Ello?" he called as he entered the office. He took two steps in before he realized that everything was wrong; Mary-Beth being absent was just the first sign.

The second was the white jacket that was folded on the back of the black leather chair by the entrance of the room. The third was the fact that the lights were dimmed. Tseng never dimmed the lights in his office, something about energy flow, Feng Shui stuff. The fourth was the fact that it was not Tseng leaning against his desk, with arms languidly resting behind him, and his legs stretched out with the ankles crossed.

"Ah, Reno. You got the invite."

~ _shit~_

Reno was no chicken. He was usually the first to go headlong into a horribly bad situation, but he really wanted to run right now. He took a step back to only hear that the door clicked behind him.

The light chuckle that filled the room made his stomach flip nervously.

Reno looked towards Rufus, who had leaned back and obviously pressed the lock button for the door. Rufus drew his arm slowly so that they crossed his chest, tilting is head with a small smirk.

~ _trapped like a rat ~_

"I have some questions to ask you," Rufus said simply.

~ _questions? ~_

Reno tried to control his breathing. He didn't want Rufus to know how much he affected him.

~ _maybe he wants more of me~_

It wasn't that comforting of a thought. As much as the Brat Boss was attractive and all, it absolutely terrified Reno the amount of control that Rufus had over him. He wasn't sure he liked this teasing game and how it affected him.

~ _turned ya into a puss~_

Rufus gave another chuckle and pointed to the chair in front of him. "Sit."

"I'm fine here, thanks," he said.

"Really, Reno," Rufus said. "Take off your coat and relax."

~ _can't relax around you, you teasing brat~_

"I'm fine, sir," he said.

"Come on now, Reno," Rufus' voice was low and calming. "We can't have a civil conversation with you standing over there." Rufus flashed his expensive white teeth.

~ _how much bridgework does he have?~_

Rufus scooted up so that he was sitting on the desk now, and had his ankles still crossed. Reno didn't want to, but he found his stiff legs walking towards the Boss.

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Has Tseng been pushing you too hard?"

"Nothin' I can't handle," he quipped. He knew that if he was forced to sit again, he wouldn't be able to get out of the chair easily. It had taken a lot of work just to get out of his office chair; he didn't want to look like a gimp in front of the Boss. He stood beside the chair, but didn't seat himself. He was eye to eye with the Brat now.

Rufus tilted his head as if he were pondering something. Reno didn't want to know what the Brat Boss was thinking. "That's good. I don't want Tseng to be too hard on you," Rufus said, slowly blinking his grey eyes.

~ _is he flirting?~_

"What did ya wan' to talk 'bout, Boss?" Reno licked his lips and regretted it. The corner of Rufus' mouth twitched as he did that.

~ _oh man, I hope I didn't set him off!~_

Rufus gave a sigh and ran his hands over his white clad thighs, his eyes boring right into him so much that Reno was afraid to turn away. "There are a few questions that I have, about those marks on your face. I want to know their meaning. I am afraid that thinking about them has been…distracting."

~ _I distracted Boss? Cool!~_

Reno ran his fingers over the marks on his cheeks, unable to hold back a smirk. "Ya interested in my tatts?"

"Indeed. I do believe that you said that you would tell me about them. Did you forget that you had said that?" Rufus ran a hand through his ash blond hair as if he were trying to brush it out of his eyes, only to have it fall back down in the same way.

"I remember, yo," Reno said. Of course he had only said that when he thought he was going to get a little bit of action.

~ _I remember that whole fuckin' limo ride all too well~_

Rufus scooted off the desk in a smooth motion and stood before Reno. Reno felt the urge to run, but remained where he was standing. He didn't want to be a plaything for the Boss, and he knew all to well how he could tease.

~ _so does everyone else~_

He was also very aware of how good the Boss' touch was, and the fact that his body would not be in the best of shape to handle such things…

… _sex_ …

…right now.

"You look a little stiff," Rufus said, and started to walk around Reno. Reno wanted to bolt; he didn't want to be trapped again. "Your new morning workout routine seems to be a little much for you." A perfect, strong hand rested on his shoulder and started to move.

He couldn't help but groan as those fingers danced against the tense muscles in his shoulders. Boss' hands were giving him the most amazing massage.

~ _he is teasing you again~_

"My, you are stiff," Rufus whispered. "You weren't this tense the other night."

"Are ya gonna let me touch ya this time?" he whispered, as those fingers prodded his sore muscles in a very relaxing manner. He felt himself melting at the touch.

 _~damn, Boss is dragging me down him again, and it feels so good~_

"Maybe," Rufus said in a soft whisper against his ear. Rufus' hands were rotating on his shoulders to his shoulder blades. That simple word sent chills running up and down Reno's spine. That word held so much promise for things that could be done.

A polished finger came up and stroked his cheek. Reno found himself turning his head to meet that touch. "When did you get these? They do emphasize your cheekbones nicely, and I believe the color of your hair is the same as the ink. How novel."

"Yeah. Got 'em when I was twelve," Reno said in a hushed whisper. Rufus' finger ran under his eye and up the side of his face, following the curve of the tattoo, only to run back down again.

~ _B_ _oss' touch is so gentle~_

"Twelve?" Rufus said with a little bit of shock in his voice. "Why so young? I thought it was illegal? Who would mark you at such a young age?" Rufus' hands were on his shoulders again as he spoke. They were gently massaging him and relaxing him.

~ _disarmingly so ~_

"Uh… well, kinda was in the wrong crowd," Reno said. He really didn't want to elaborate. He had put it past him. He didn't really want to talk about it.

"Wrong crowd indeed. At least they made it becoming. Why your face?" Rufus gave a questioning hum. "Tell me why this was done to you."

He hesitated to speak and Rufus seemed to notice this. "You need to relax, my Swan." Rufus' hands reached over his shoulders and pulled his jacket open and then down with practiced ease. Reno didn't have time to protest the removal, as the Boss swiftly tossed it onto the chair he was supposed to be sitting in. He felt himself being turned and pushed, so that the Brat was in front of him and Reno was pushed against Tseng's mahogany desk. Rufus stood in front of Reno and brought both his hands to his face, caressing the marks with his thumbs.

"Tell me, Swan," Rufus said with a curious and concerned look on his face. "Who would deface such soft skin with ink?" Rufus' smooth thumbs kept gently stroking his face.

"Just the wrong crowd, Boss," he said, relaxing under the touch. He didn't realize being stroked like that was almost going to make him purr. Damn, it felt good.

"What kind of crowd was it? Hmm? I have read your file and there was no mention other than that you grew up in the slums. Who did you hang out with in the slums?"

"G-gang," Reno whispered and closed his eyes, becoming absorbed in the touch. He didn't even know that it could be a sensual spot.

~ _Boss knows how to calm a guy down~_

"What kind of gang?" Rufus asked. "Did you not have family?"

Reno opened his eyes to look into the concerned grey ones of his boss. Was he really concerned? He couldn't really tell with him. "Just a gang," Reno whispered. He vaguely remembered a woman that looked after him, but was sure that she wasn't his mother. He didn't know who his father was either, and didn't care. He did remember that he had to take care of himself a lot.

Rufus repeated, "Just a gang?"

Reno nodded. Rufus stopped stroking his cheeks and moved his hands to rest them onto Reno's shoulders lightly. "I do not seem to recall any other gang markings like this. Why were you marked like this?"

"It's nothin' special," Reno said. Reno never had people who were really interested in how he got the marks. He had not even told Rude or Tseng. The only guy that knew the reason, and what the markings meant, was Legend and maybe Verdot. Hell, Legend was the reason why he was in the Turks. Usually just mentioning that he was part of a gang was enough to get them off his back about the strange markings.

"I think there is a heavy story behind these," Rufus said and dragged his hands from Reno's shoulders down his chest, so that his hands were resting at the bottom of his ribs. Reno gasped at the touch and tried to regulate his breathing. "And the ones that I glimpsed the other night." Rufus' fingers were massaging just beneath his ribs where his other tattoos wrapped and connected. Not many people had even seen them. The gang story worked well for that as well, if they happen to be seen. He doubted it would cut it with the Boss.

"Yeah," Reno said, glad that he was able to get his breathing calmed down, despite how his groin betrayed him.

Rufus tilted his head to the side, as if pondering him. "Is it a painful story?"

"A bit," Reno whispered, and daring the touch, he put his hands on his Rufus' wrists where they were touching him. He was grateful when Rufus didn't push him away and allowed the touch. Reno ran his hands up the black clad arm so that he was cupping his elbow. He looked up to meet Rufus' eyes and saw concern there.

~ _maybe I am not just a plaything~_

Rufus leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss.

~ _amazing kiss~_

It started off as their lips touching together. Reno knew he was pushing his luck by deepening the kiss, but Rufus didn't seem to mind when Reno pushed his tongue into his mouth. Reno tightened his grip on Rufus' elbow, afraid that he was going to pull away. He would have leaned more into the kiss but his body just wasn't going to move that way, so instead, Reno moved his tongue so that it stroked the Boss'. He was pleased to hear the small moan that he was getting out of the Boss.

The kiss finally broke and Reno realized that Rufus was pressed against his chest and his hands were gripping Reno's sides almost painfully. Reno was aware that his erection was pressing against his boss' hip, and there was no hiding it.

"I want to know," Rufus said. "No more distracting me with that tongue of yours." Rufus hummed lowly and moved a hand to stroke the tattoo on his right cheek in that wonderful, soothing motion.

"It's sorta an underground thing," Reno whispered, finding his eyes closing as he nuzzled into the touch.

"Underground?" Rufus said. "What did you do in the gang?"

Reno sighed and tried to lean further into the touch against his cheek. "Stuff. Some of it pretty bad," Reno whispered. "Had to do it to stay alive, yo."

Rufus made a humming sound and Reno felt his lips touch his again.

"I-I don't talk about it much," Reno murmured against Rufus' lips.

"That bad?" Rufus whispered back. Reno felt the hand on his side start to stroke up and down. He knew that he shouldn't be soothed by what was happening. He knew that he should be disturbed and upset.

~ _He smells so good~_

He wished he could place the scent but it was calming…

~ _maybe it's a drug~_

…and soothing. He wanted to bury his face into his hair. Reno rested his hands on the Boss' hips, but still not opening his eyes.

"Sometimes," he mumbled back, leaning forward blindly, hoping to capture a kiss and was grateful when he was greeted with the sensuous lips.

"Your tattoos tell what you did for them?" Rufus asked lowly.

Reno nodded and opened his eyes. He wished he would have kept them closed.

"Yo, I don't need your pity, Boss," Reno said as he saw the serious face of Rufus.

"I want to understand," Rufus said.

"Life sucked. Real hard, but I am past it, yo. They're just marks," Reno made his voice strong, but he sure as hell didn't feel strong. Rufus was still stroking his cheek and it was calming him again. Rufus' lips took his again and he hungrily accepted them, as long as he didn't have to talk anymore.

~ _damn sexy interrogation technique~_

The thought made him pull back from the kiss. Is that all this was? An interrogation? He wondered if Rufus was just putting on the moves to get him to talk.

~ _oh yeah, like your tatts are really that entertaining~_

"Reno?" Rufus whispered, still stroking him. Reno was glad that he was allowed to touch this time. Feeling the warmth and steady sides against his hands told him that it couldn't all be teasing.

~ _has to like me a little bit to kiss like that~_

"I ran drugs," Reno blurted. "I was small, and fit into tight places; came in handy for gettin' away. Did a little of the product too, for testin' purposes, ya know."

Rufus hummed, and Reno closed his eyes again. He didn't want to have them open when he said the next part. "They marked ya when you were willing to do… do certain things." He took a shaky breath. Rufus' hand squeezed his side and Reno felt a little bit reassured by it. "Hell, they all thought I was gonna die before I turned 14." Reno chuckled. "So did I."

Reno felt small kisses being placed along his jaw line, and then one on his nose. He didn't open his eyes. He couldn't just yet.

"I was heavy into the drug by then. Real heavy, man. I agreed to a-a few things. Don't remember most of 'em. These face tatts were part of it," Reno whispered. "It marked me as owned."

"Owned?" Rufus said next to his ear.

"Made sure that the dough went to the right owner," Reno said. "It made sure my drugs came to me when I needed it, and I got returned to the right room."

"You were a child," Rufus stated.

"Yeah, well, I had my uses," Reno said. "I may have been a child, but I was never a kid, ya know."

There was a cold sparkle in Rufus' eye as Reno finished speaking. The ruthless boss was sneaking out. "The one that _owned_ you, is he dead?" Rufus asked.

"Yeah, Legend took care of him, good."

"Good," Rufus said and the coldness left his eyes, and amusement replaced it. "I want to see the rest of your markings."

"Nothin' spectacular there, Boss," Reno said.

Rufus made that humming sound again.

~ _like the Boss is purring~_

"Do not sell yourself short," Rufus whispered, and moved in for a kiss, which Reno gladly took. The kiss and warm caressing hand against his cheek was so distracting, Reno didn't notice that Rufus was unbuttoning his shirt until he felt the fabric being parted.

"Whoa, dude," Reno said a bit startled and slightly embarrassed that he just called his boss 'dude'. Rufus leaned back slightly so he could look down Reno's body, his fingers dancing to the red marks that were at the bottom of his rib cage.

~ _he got me nearly naked again~_

"Were these to mark you as _owned,_ as well?"

He nodded as Rufus' hands ran up to his shoulders under his shirt, where they resumed their relaxing, gentle massage. Reno wanted to keep his hands on the Boss' hips. He didn't want to stop touching him, because that meant that he had some control over this situation.

"The ones on your back? How old were you when you got them?" Rufus asked as his hands continued to massage.

"Uh," Reno said and gripped his boss' hips tightly, even pulling him a bit closer. "I started it when I was – uh- ten," he whispered, pleased to feel that Rufus was becoming aroused as he was. There was even a warm glow that crossed Rufus' cheeks, and his lips were pinker than he remembered seeing before.

~ _did I make Rufus flush like that last time?~_

"Ten?" Rufus said and started to move his hands down his arms, taking the shirt with them.

"Uh-huh. Hides the scars," he breathed the answer, and was suddenly aware that Rufus' motion was making him remove his hands from his hips and forcing them slightly behind him, trapped in the sleeves of his white shirt.

"Scars?" Rufus queried, tilting his head slightly, so that his ash blond hair covered one of his eyes.

Reno's heart began to race as he started to feel trapped. Rufus' hands were firmly down on his wrists, and his own shirt was keeping him from moving his arms to free himself.

"From what?" Rufus asked.

"Got caught," Reno whispered and tried to move his arms out of the impromptu bindings, feeling a little panicked. "Boss?"

Rufus blinked slowly and a smirk came over his lips. "Got caught doing what?" Rufus ignored the plea in Reno's voice.

"Boss?" Reno asked, starting to come out of his daze and becoming a little alarmed that he allowed this to happen.

"Reno," Rufus said and moved forward to give him another mind blowing kiss. "I want to know about you," he said, his lips still touching Reno's as he spoke.

~ _does he mean that?~_

The way Rufus spoke was enough to melt Reno. "Who hurt you?"

"It-it was a run gone bad," Reno whispered, his lips moving against Rufus', who seemed to be breathing with him. "Got caught. The guy liked playing with knives. Tatts hide most of the scars, ya know." Reno leaned forward to capture those lips, and was grateful that Rufus allowed it and deepened the kiss.

~ _wanna touch~_

Reno tried to move his arms but Rufus' firm grip held them still. Rufus seemed to see that he wanted him to move. "I want to see," Rufus whispered, his eyes looking over his body, and it seemed as if he didn't just want to see his tattoos.

~ _damn hungry eyes~_

"I wanna touch," Reno replied.

"Of course you do," Rufus said with a suddenly wide, amused smile. "But I get to see you first."

Reno felt his arm being pulled and tugged as he was twisted around so that his hips…

~ _and groin~_

… were pressed painfully against the desk. His leg protested the sharp movement and one of his knees gave out. Rufus had to grab him to keep him from falling, and in the movement he pressed against him, pushing him forward on top of the desk. His arms, being held by his shirt, painfully stretched behind him. Reno hissed in pain and gave a small yelp before he could get his knee back under him. He straightened his back so the position wasn't as uncomfortable.

Rufus hummed. "I forgot about your taxing morning workout."

"You could give me a break, Boss," Reno said.

"I let you touch me, earlier," Rufus said, and Reno felt Rufus pressing against his bottom…

~ _still excited~_

…and talented hands stroked him from his hips to his shoulder blades, and back down again. Reno tried to turn his head to see what Rufus was doing, but then he realized that he could see the reflection of Rufus in the window in front of him. Rufus looked enamoured by the tattoos that covered his back. It started between his shoulders, in blade like swirls which rolled down his spine to the middle of his back. He could feel Rufus use one of his fingers to trace the lines, and it caused him to shiver at the mysterious, gentle touch.

"Almost tribal," Rufus whispered. The reflection showed that Rufus had a curious smile melting into a look of concern. The middle of his back was the worst of the scars, and the lines were a little thicker; they didn't really hide the old wounds all that well. It was the only place where the tattoo artist used a different color ink, to place an image of a blade; the same type of blade that was used to give him the scars. His hand rested there for a bit and Rufus made that humming sound before he continued down to his lower back.

"The guy that cut me had enough courtesy to be symmetrical, ya know," Reno said as fingers traced to his lower back, where some of the marks disappeared into his pants. Reno had to shift his stance a little as the touch was making his groin uncomfortably hard against the desk.

"How kind of him," Rufus said sarcastically. Reno watched his head duck down and he felt Rufus' lips pressed between his shoulder blades. Reno bowed his head forward and closed his eyes. He heard a sound and realized it was his groaning.

"They're beautifully done." Another kiss further down, before he felt his boss give out a heavy sigh. Rufus stood erect behind him and wrapped his hands around Reno's waist, placing him in a tight hug. Reno could feel Rufus pressed firmly against his back, and a kiss was placed against his neck. He leaned into it, wanting to kiss that hot mouth again.

It felt kind of weird and strange to be held like this. It was almost like he cared about him, or something.

He wasn't used to that.

"Boss?" he said. He tried pulling his arms around so that he could embrace the arms that were holding him, but his damn shirt was preventing that. "Can I touch ya now?"

"I haven't seen it all yet," Rufus whispered against his ear, and Reno felt Rufus' hands moving down his belly to his pants.

~ _fuck~_

He closed his eyes as he felt those nimble fingers undo the button and start to pull down his zipper.

~ _this is way too much~_

Reno gasped in a couple of breaths as he felt himself being exposed, and wished he hadn't put on underwear after his shower. Rufus ran his fingers over his bulge.

"Fuck," he gasped and pushed his bottom against Rufus, who was obviously enjoying the interaction as well.

"Maybe," Rufus whispered against his ear before nibbling on his earlobe.

Reno didn't care how sore he was from the morning workout. That word was making his heart race...

~ _and your dick twitch~_

…wildly again. If Rufus was going to screw him, so be it. He had never wanted it so bad in his life before. He had never been so turned on…

~ _fuckin' horny~_

 _…_ ever, and now he really wanted to get screwed into the desk. Or if Boss wanted to be screwed, Reno was more than willing to do that, too. Hell, he would take a damn hand job right now from those pampered hands.

~ _that would be so damn awesome~_

Rufus hummed against his ear again, and a hand was pressed a little more purposefully against his crotch. A finger rubbed his tip through the cloth of his underwear. "I may have overexcited you."

"No shit, Boss," Reno said, and was greeted with a deeply amused chuckle.

Reno turned his head to the side as far as he could, and was pleased to see that Rufus moved to greet him with a greedy kiss. Reno's heart began to beat faster and his breathing quickened.

~ _Won't need to worry about my plan, now~_

That was when the room suddenly got bright.

It took Reno a couple of blinks to realize what was happening. He was a bit startled by the abrupt warmth of Rufus' body leaving him and no longer being wrapped around him, or even leaning against him. "Oh, Tseng. You are back early."

Reno groaned and turned his head to the side, seeing a very shocked-looking Tseng standing at the door with his hand on the light switch.

"Mr. Vice-President?" Tseng said, his dark eyes widening at the scene in front of him.

Reno groaned as he realized what he looked like. His arms pinned down at his side by his own shirt, his pants open and nearly exposed on top of Tseng's desk, all accomplished by the Vice-President himself.

Reno stiffly put his shirt back on his shoulders and fiddled with his pants, nearly catching himself in his fly. He felt his face burning as he stole a glance at Rufus, and he didn't see him the least bit ashamed at what he had done.

~ _Brat set me up~_

"I needed to use your office for a personal meeting," Rufus said, and straightened his slightly askew vest. At least he had to adjust his pants a bit.

~ _at least I know I turned him on~_

"I see," Tseng said, obviously trying to school his features. Reno couldn't decide if he was hiding amusement or shock, but he wasn't going to hang around to find out. Reno grabbed his jacket, ignored the pain in his legs, and darted out of the room.

~ _never look at that desk the same again~_

Reno ignored the shocked-looking secretary as he darted out as quickly as he could, very aware that his shirt was still open as he struggled to get his jacket over his shoulders.

He wanted nothing more than to hide from the world right now. He needed a cigarette to calm his nerves. He would have to wait until he got into his apartment and stumbled onto his balcony, but he still pulled out the pack of Gongaga smokes anyway. The pack of smokes with the ominous message that was inside it.

"Fuck!" he shouted, and nearly threw the cigarettes away.

* * *

Wow. My Reno torture turned all…angsty…

The next chapter will have some more of our favourite two characters… Zack and Cloud… maybe even get to have a little action (and delve into that drawer)

Leave a litte note to let me know you like what I am doing...


	25. Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

Zack and Cloud are together again! And not just for a conversation … Much lighter than the last angst riddled chapter and there is some items pulled out of the drawer and I may even let them use them!

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some **others** into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **TRAINING**

* * *

"My, you're aggressive today, aren't you?" Zack laughed as he looked down at a panting Cloud. They were an hour into their usual training session, and Cloud was absolutely wired. They had gone through about twenty minutes of motions and warm-up, and then they started to spar with those new moves…

~ _new positions~_

… in mind.

Cloud huffed. He was flat on the gym mat; his sword thrown aside after Zack had knocked it out of his hand, and kicked his feet out from under him. Zack was sitting smugly on his stomach and had Cloud's hands pinned firmly at his sides.

"Not exactly a regulation hold, sir," Cloud grumbled and tried to free his hands.

Zack laughed. "Are you questioning me, Private?" He had the biggest…

 _~sexiest~_

… grin on his face.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Cloud firmly spoke and bucked his hips, trying to dislodge Zack from his position. The attempted escape caused Zack to laugh, hold Cloud's hands tighter, and squeeze his belly harder with his thighs.

"Well, I don't think you should be questioning your superior officer, Private," Zack said. There was a sparkle in his eyes, and his grin grew wider.

Cloud was all for this game. "What're you going to do about it, sir?" Cloud tried not to smile, but he knew that his frown was slipping.

Zack leaned forward, and in a low – and most definitely - sexier voice said, "I can think of a few things." They were almost nose to nose and Cloud refrained from pressing forward to kiss Zack. The training rooms were monitored and he didn't want to end up on the surveillance gag reel.

~ _still might if he keeps this up~_

"And what would that be, sir?" Cloud taunted. He knew that his lips were twitching with the effort of keeping a grim look; he could tell by Zack's face that he was failing.

Zack pulled back sharply and cleared his throat. "Well, I think we should take up those issues in a more private area, Private." Zack bounced up and offered his hand down to Cloud. Cloud quickly took it, and purposely leaned forward a little too much from the momentum of the tug, so that he ran his hand over…

~ _yeah, he's hard~_

…Zack's crotch. Just a fleeting touch, but it caused Zack to groan and his cheeks to flush.

"Quit doing stuff like that," Zack whispered and adjusted his pants.

"Like what?" Cloud said, trying to keep his tone as innocent as possible, and his eyes a little wider than normal. It was his version of the innocent puppy eyes. He used it on his mom, and usually got what he wanted, but he didn't know if it was going to work on Zack.

"I am the king of the puppy look, don't try that on me," Zack said, quickly throwing his arm around Cloud's neck into a headlock, and ground his knuckles into his head.

Cloud laughed and fought against the hold. "So," he finally managed to get out, still firmly lodged under Zack's arm. "Are we done for the day?"

"Oh. Nowhere near done," Zack said as he dragged him out of the training room.

~ _totally the answer I wanted~_

* * *

Cloud could barely think. Zack's tongue in his mouth was driving him insane and making any coherent thought leave him. He was being smothered by the large, warm bare chest and he could only think about what that body could do to him.

Zack broke the deep kiss and lifted slightly off of him. Cloud just looked up at him, knowing that he had a silly smile on his face. "You are so damn cute," Zack whispered.

~ _cute~_

"Don't call me 'cute'," Cloud muttered. "I am not cute!"

"Oh, but you are," Zack said and ran his hands over his face.

Cloud wrinkled his nose and glared at the other man. "Quit calling me cute!" Cloud had been called 'cute' all his life. He didn't care when he was little, but as he got older, 'cute' just got him picked on. 'Handsome' made a person popular, 'cute' made a person the one the handsome one picked on.

~ _in this case, he wants to screw you~_

Zack chuckled lightly. "I love it when you get riled up like that."

~ _I'll show him riled up~_

Cloud couldn't help but smile. Cloud put a hand in the dark spikes and pulled Zack's ear to his mouth. "Wanna play with those toys," he huskily whispered. "Now."

Zack's whole body shivered over him, and he let out a shaky breath. "Demanding, aren't you?" Zack managed to say, even if his usual, confident voice was a little shaky. Cloud proceeded to chew on the earlobe, knowing that Zack enjoyed it.

He got a groan out of Zack. Now, he just had to get him to take the rest of his clothes off and get something from that drawer. They both still had their boxers on; the rest of their clothes were strewn around the room in the flurry to get into the bed. Zack twisted his hips and Cloud felt Zack's arousal pressing against his own, and now he _really_ wanted the boxers off of the SOLDIER.

Cloud stopped chewing on Zack's ear and wiggled to try to reach down to remove the last bit of restrictive clothing. The movement seemed to cause Zack to grind into him harder. Zack's mouth latched onto his neck and nibbled his skin, causing Cloud to close his eyes and take in a deep breath. He arched his back to help alleviate the tingle that was racing down his spine, only to be stopped by the firm body pressed against him.

"Eager," Zack mumbled and nipped his collar bone.

Cloud whimpered.

~ _understatement~_

Zack rolled off of him. Cloud felt cold with the removal of the warm body, but was pleased to see that Zack was reaching for the bedside table. He eagerly removed his boxers in anticipation of what was to come. Zack was sitting on the side of the bed as he placed the condoms and lube on the nightstand, and was looking in the drawer with his tongue between his teeth.

"Zack?"

Zack flushed and looked over at him, releasing his tongue from his teeth. "Well, you know," Zack said, and looked over at him sheepishly, "I may have been a little over-zealous when I went to the store."

"I don't think so, and even if you were, it would be a shame not to use the stuff," Cloud said and reached for Zack's boxers. He was going to get some tonight, and he was going to get Zack to use those toys that he was dreaming about since he saw them.

Zack obliged and removed his boxers.

Cloud licked his lips to refrain from wanting to kiss Zack's swollen cock.

"Well, I…" Zack said and looked over at the drawer. "You don't think I'm creepy or anything?"

"Just kinky," Cloud mumbled and scooted close to Zack so that he could rest his head on his thigh.

~ _just a little kiss~_

He kissed the flushed tip of Zack's erection. Zack gasped and thrust a hand into the soft yellow hair.

"Kinky?" Zack said and stroked the blond head on his thigh.

"Uh-huh," Cloud said and licked his lips. He wanted to kiss it again.

"So," Zack said, and then hummed. "Did you see everything in the drawer?"

"I saw enough," Cloud said and kissed the cock again. Cloud smiled as it jumped, and Zack's grip increased in his hair.

"What do you want me to use on you?" Zack panted.

~ _dear Gaia~_

Cloud nearly lost it. He groaned and closed his eyes. His could feel his face blush as his groin painfully tightened. There was not a single coherent thought in his head. He heard Zack laugh and reach into the drawer.

"I think you will need this."

Cloud didn't see what he pulled out, as he was still recovering from the question. Zack pushed him back into the middle of the bed. Cloud tried to see what was in his hand, but Zack leaned over his chest and blocked his view of what he had. Zack grabbed him…

~ _feels so damn good~_

…at his base and gave him an appreciative squeeze.

"Zack!"

"Easy there, Cloud," Zack said, and then in a whisper, he added, "You are so horny."

~ _no doubt about it~_

"This'll help," Zack said. Cloud felt something wrap around the base of his cock.

~ _tight~_

Zack moved so that Cloud could see what Zack placed on him.

"Is that okay?" Zack asked, but didn't wait for an answer as he moved in for a kiss. Cloud wanted to protest, but Zack's talented lips and tongue cut off any words that he had. Zack's hand was wrapped tightly around his cock and squeezed, causing Cloud to wiggle against the touch and the odd binding.

"Gaia Cloud." Zack's mouth gaping as he broke the kiss. "I don't know if I can take it slow tonight."

"Then don't," Cloud whispered and kissed him again, enjoying how the larger man tensed above him.

Zack pressed against him so that both of their cocks were touching, and started to rub them together. "Damn, do you know how sexy you are?"

Cloud was in heaven. His whole world was in this bedroom with Zack crushing him and gently rocking against him.

Zack grunted.

Cloud felt the familiar tightness in his belly spread to his groin. He gasped and thrust against Zack. His body didn't finish though, and all he could do was twist, moan, and pant.

Zack chuckled and kept rubbing. "Glad I strapped ya."

"Uh," Cloud said as the feeling let up a little bit. "Take it off," he whimpered.

"Not until I fuck you," Zack said.

Cloud forgot to breathe for a moment. Zack chuckled and rolled off him again and reached over to drawer. Cloud watched the muscles move in Zack's shoulders.

~ _hottest guy in the world~_

Zack turned back to him. He had delved into the drawer again and he pulled out that finger-covering with the bumps on it, and the bottle of lube.

~ _Gaia~_

Zack didn't hesitate to place some lube on the toy.

~ _can I handle that?~_

Zack handed Cloud the bottle and he took it. Zack's weight returned to his side, and his hand…

~ _not wasting any time~_

…went down to his bottom. Cloud could only gasp as he felt the cool, gel-covered finger hover over his entrance.

"I want you so bad," Zack said. "You're all that I think about."

Cloud glowed at the thought, and wiggled against the finger that wasn't entering him yet. For someone that wanted to rush, he sure was taking it way too slow.

"Zack," he begged and moved to meet his lover's neck.

~ _lover~_

"Gonna fuck your brains out," Zack growled.

Cloud's small groan at hearing those words turned into a small yelp as the finger pushed in, but not as gently as the last time. It hurt a little, but that was quickly replaced by a warm sensation; he remembered that wonderful sensation from the last time. Zack's finger curled around the spot that sent fire running through his whole body. His body tried to come again, but that stupid strap stopped it from happening.

"Anxious," Zack said as he moved his finger against that spot again.

Cloud couldn't help but to squirm and twist. He reached down to his cock, only to have Zack stop stimulating him and slap his hand away.

"Not yet. Wait until I'm in you," Zack said.

Cloud panted and tossed his head back. His mind was racing, and none of the thoughts were very clear at the moment. Zack's finger moved back to his entrance and pushed. He gave out a little squeak that was none too manly.

~ _no wonder he is calling you cute~_

Zack made a hard grunt.

~ _that was manly~_

He could feel that velvety cock rubbing against his thigh, and all Cloud could think about was how wonderful it felt when it filled him. He wanted to feel how _full_ he could become when Zack pressed him into the mattress.

"Does that feel good?" Zack panted. Cloud tried to say 'yes', but Zack added another finger, and all he managed was a whine. "Yeah, baby."

~ _baby?~_

Zack started to move his fingers in a circular motion, making him ready. Cloud tried to reach for his aching member again. He wanted the strap gone. He wanted to come. He wanted Zack in him.

"Nu-huh," Zack said. "Put that hand back down at your side." Cloud groaned, but those passion-filled eyes looked directly at him, and those fingers slowed. Cloud complied and he was rewarded with a curl of that silicone-encased finger. He couldn't help but buck his hips at the touch. His whole body was on fire at the intense feeling that was consuming him.

"Please, Zack," Cloud moaned as that finger stroked the most maddening spot.

"How do you want it, Cloud?" Zack asked with a voice thick with lust.

~ _every which way~_

Cloud had a very good imagination and it was going into overdrive. He was only able to get a few grunts out as those fingers were still moving with slow, teasing motions.

Zack's cock was pressed hard against Cloud's thigh, and his breath was hot against his ear. He repeated, "How do you want it?"

"I-" Cloud blushed. "I just want it."

Zack's hand kept stretching his entrance. "I think you're ready," he chuckled lightly. "I'm going to screw you into the mattress."

~ _sounds great~_

Zack moved quickly. He removed the silicone wrapping on his finger and grabbed a condom, expertly opened the package and rolled it quickly over his cock.

~ _fuck me~_

"That's just what I am going to do," Zack grinned wolfishly as he turned towards Cloud.

Cloud blushed brightly. "Did I say that out loud?" He put a hand over his mouth.

"Yep," Zack said. "Don't have an inside voice when you're all worked up, huh?" Zack leaned over and gave him a deep kiss as he positioned his body between Cloud's spread legs. Zack broke the kiss, as he knelt in that position.

~ _is he going to fold me in half again?~_

Zack sat on his heels with his thighs together. Strong hands gripped Cloud's hips as Zack pulled Cloud up his thighs, and Cloud instinctively wrapped his legs around Zack's muscular waist. Cloud smiled and wiggled a bit higher, so that Zack had easier access.

Zack didn't waste any more time. He leaned forward slightly and Cloud could feel Zack's cock pressing for entrance. Cloud relaxed as he felt the pressure. ~ _perfect~_

Zack was not as gentle as before, as he pushed forward forcefully, causing Cloud to hiss at the discomfort. Zack paused a bit and waited for him to get used to being filled again. Cloud moved his hips to encourage Zack to move again as the pressure eased, and the pleasure increased. Cloud cried out as Zack sharply pushed all the way in and kept moving.

Cloud felt the heaviness coiling in his stomach again. He reached down to that strap only to have Zack grab his hands to prevent him from removing it and touching himself.

"Not yet," Zack grunted.

"Please," Cloud whimpered. He wasn't coherent enough to say anything else. He tried desperately to get his hands free, but Zack had complete control over him. The pressure was getting too much, and all he could do was push against the SOLDIER and gasp. Cloud shuddered violently as his body tried to reach its climax, but was denied. He yelled his protest and gripped Zack's hand tightly. He didn't even realize that he was pleading with Zack to let him come until he had to take a breath.

Zack's pumped harder into him and Cloud met his thrusts helplessly. He felt his whole body break out into a fine sweat as the pleasure was becoming too much.

~ _want the strap off~_

Cloud whimpered as he tried to force Zack's hand toward the piece of leather that was preventing the final climax. Cloud looked at the man that was pressing into him and saw that he had broken into a sweat as well. Zack had his teeth on his lower lip and a look of complete concentration…

~ _lust~_

 _…_ on his face.

Zack let go of his hands and put his sword-hardened palms back on to Cloud's narrow hips. Cloud immediately reached for the strap and tried to remove it. Zack used his hands to pull him tighter to him. The grip changed the angle just enough so that Zack was now thrusting right against that tight little spot that sent explosions of pleasure right through him. Cloud gasped and for a moment, forgot about the strap.

He heard Zack swear.

He remembered how restricted he felt and grabbed at the strap and…

~ _damn it~_

 _…_ couldn't get it undone. He pulled on it and it only made it tighter. He whimpered in protest. One of Zack's hands pulled his hands away from it and he just about screamed a protest until he realized that Zack was undoing the restraint.

It was almost instantaneous. Cloud's whole body roiled with pleasure as he arched his back. He always thought people were making things up when they said that they saw fireworks, or said that they blacked out. His vision became fogged with spots that rolled across his vision, as his body shook and quivered as the orgasm consumed him.

He heard Zack growl as he leaned forward when his own orgasm took him.

~ _how can it be even better than last time?~_

Cloud smiled and looked up at the panting man who was still recovering. "That was wonderful." Cloud was surprised at the hoarseness of his voice as he spoke.

~ _was I too loud again?~_

Zack nodded and leaned forward to kiss him. It was a gentle kiss that moved from his lips to his neck.

"You keep saying that," Zack said.

"Well, it was," Cloud said as he felt Zack slip out of him. He moaned at the loss of having him inside, as well as pressed against him, as Zack moved to dispose of the condom. Cloud was very aware that he had another mess across his chest and belly.

"We should make sure we have a wash cloth ready _before_ we have sex," Cloud said.

Zack chuckled lightly as he walked across the room to the bathroom. "We'll have to keep that in mind."

Cloud stretched out his legs and pulled the sheet over his nakedness, but not over the mess on his belly. Zack returned and cleaned him up with the warm wash cloth, kissing him as he did so. "Did I hurt you?" Zack asked.

"I said it was wonderful," Cloud murmured as Zack cuddled up against him under the sheets. Cloud stroked the muscular arms that wrapped around him. "What are we going to play with next?"

Zack chuckled, "Insatiable, aren't you?"

"You started it."

Zack laughed. "I believe you started it with your drunken teasing."

"You kissed me first."

"You grabbed my ass."

"You got a drawer full of toys."

They both laughed. Cloud kissed Zack's jaw line. "I was serious, Zack. What are we going to play with next?"

* * *

Insatiable Cloud… yummy.

Read, Review and all that stuff…


	26. Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

And more Reno. I know that you are wondering how he's doing now and if he _finally_ is going to get some….

 **Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **GIFT**

* * *

"You look like shit."

"Geez, thanks, Cloud. Nice to know I look as good as I feel," Reno grumbled. Reno sat with a tray of food beside him. He looked tired and looked more ruffled than normal; he was pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes. His slightly dulled blue eyes glanced fleetingly over at Cloud. "You look chipper."

Cloud cleared his throat, and switched the topic back to Reno. "You've been in the Mess a lot lately." Cloud could see Reno's shoulders slump a bit as he twirled the noodles on his plate. "Since when do you eat down here? You hate this place."

Reno chuckled. "I _loathe_ this place. Life is just kinda suckin' right now, ya know."

There was something bothering the normally chipper redhead. He watched as Reno took a fork full of food and brought it to his mouth. His brow was furrowed and Cloud was sure that it wasn't just his normal disdain for the food.

"What happened?" Cloud asked as he continued to eat his meal.

Reno shrugged. "This and that."

"This and that?" Cloud tilted his head. Obviously, Reno didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering him. Reno's eyes hardly moved from his food.

"Yeah," Reno said with a mouthful of food. "This stuff sucks. What's it even supposed to be?"

Cloud chuckled at the face that Reno made as he put another forkful in his mouth. "Its chicken linguine in mushroom sauce," Cloud said, and heard Reno grumble about the food. "If you don't like it, why are you eating it?"

"Didn't eat breakfast. Wakin' up at three really sucks, yo," Reno mumbled as he speared a mushroom. "Gag me - is this a piece of chicken or a mushroom?" Reno shook the offensive piece of food off his fork and went for the noodles.

"It's not that bad," Cloud said, spearing the mushroom from Reno's plate and eating it, "and it's a mushroom. But why are you up so early?" Cloud took a sip of his juice.

Reno mumbled something and gave Cloud a glance, but quickly focused back on his food.

~ _what did Zack say to him?~_

"Pardon?" Cloud said, and leaned a little closer to Reno.

"Tseng wants me to learn to focus, and forced me to do the Boot Camp in Sector 3." Reno grumbled. "I think he's tryin' to kill me."

Cloud shook his head. He wondered what he did to get sent to that camp. He remembered the torture of going through the motions there. It was an advanced class and was quite brutal. "The Boot Camp isn't that bad," Cloud said, trying to make Reno feel better. He looked depressed, so Cloud wanted to cheer him up.

~ _he has hardly even looked at me~_

Reno shook his head. "I can't feel my legs, man," he said, finally looking at Cloud. It was a fleeting glance, and there was a worried look on his face. "That demon Sergeant is singlin' me out." Reno's eyes went back to his food. He was currently trying to remove all the pieces of mushroom and place them on the side.

"Did he make you do squats?"

"A million of 'em," Reno said and put down his fork, giving up on separating the offending pieces of food. "I can't eat any more of this crap."

"Are you okay, Reno? What else is going on?" Cloud said in a lower voice. He reached over and placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "You seem really out of it."

Reno turned his head and looked at him. He looked kind of torn. "Man, Cloud. It's complicated, yo," he said, his voice low and strained.

"Have you been sleeping?" Cloud noted that Reno's shoulder was tense. Reno was one of the most relaxed guys that he knew; this was not like him at all. His eyes were rimmed with red, and looked bloodshot.

Cloud remembered how Zack had been talking to Reno the other day. He wondered what Zack had said to him, and if it had anything to do with the Turk's current mood.

"Been a little _deprived_ lately," Reno said.

~ _deprived? What does that mean?~_

"Nothin' to worry about kiddo." The smile that Reno put on looked fake, but Cloud let it slide. If he didn't want to talk, he wasn't going to force him to.

"If you say so," Cloud said and took in another forkful of food. "What did you do to piss off Tseng to end up in the third ring of Hell?"

Reno's smile became genuine then. "What the hell? One moment you are saying that it's not bad, and now it's got its own level in Hell?" Reno winced and rubbed his legs.

Cloud laughed. "Did you stretch?"

Reno glared at him. "I'm not a moron. Jus' not used to the abuse, yo." Reno shook his head. "I need some real food."

Cloud finished the last bite of his. "You didn't answer my question. What did you do?"

Reno snorted. "Doesn't take much, yo."

~ _avoiding that question too~_

"Did you screw up a mission?" Cloud asked. He could understand if he didn't want to talk about that.

"Somethin' like that," Reno said. "Anyhoo, Cloudo, you and Zacker's still all good? Ya?"

Cloud looked away and tried not to fidget as he felt a blush creep across his face. He couldn't help but think about how good it was between him and Zack right now, and the coiling tension in his belly was evidence of that.

~ _absolutely wonderful~_

Reno laughed. "That good, huh?"

"Shut up," Cloud muttered. "And don't say that too loud."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Reno said and winced again. He must have been in a lot of pain, and Cloud refrained from reaching out to touch him, wanting to soothe the Turk. "Hey, do ya know if Zacker's got in a shipment of smokes?"

Cloud furrowed his brow, a little confused by the switch in the conversation.

Reno pulled a nearly empty pack of cigarettes from his jacket. "Found some good'ns on my desk. Tryin' to figure out who it was, ya know."

"Zack doesn't smoke."

Reno frowned. "Yeah. He didn't get any in or anythin'?"

"Not that I know of. Why are you asking?" Cloud said as Reno pocketed the smokes again.

"Jus' tryin' to figure out who dunnit," Reno said. "Didn't think it was Zack, but I thought I would ask."

"What? You have a secret admirer?" Cloud gave Reno's shoulder a gentle push.

Reno flushed and muttered something under his breath.

"You really have to speak up. I can't hear you," Cloud said.

Reno's eyes suddenly flashed with anger. "Ya know," Reno said, and pushed his chair from the table as he tried to stand, but he just ended up sitting there.

~ _what is he trying to do?~_

Reno opened his mouth and then snapped it shut; frustrations bleeding into a pitiful sounding sigh. "So much for dramatically storming out."

Cloud chuckled at the flustered Turk.

~ _he needs to loosen up~_

Cloud stood and held out his hand to Reno. "I'll help you out. I don't start lessons until one. We can use one of the training rooms, and I can have a go at your stiffness."

Reno's eyes sparkled and his eyebrows rose in a suggestive manner. Cloud groaned and his face started to heat up when he realized what he had said.

~ _oh, that can be taken the wrong way~_

"Don't be such a perv!"

~ _should take some of your own advice~_

Cloud tried to control the blush that he felt across more than just his face. "I didn't mean that! I meant I want to help stretch your legs out. I mean, so they aren't so stiff… I mean- oh man." Cloud rubbed the back of his head and gave up trying to recover from his Freudian slip.

Reno seemed overly amused by his bungling.

~ _not that you would mind going after his stiffy~_

Cloud tried to remain composed as he helped the Turk out of his chair. Ever since stupid Joseph had put the thought of a threesome in his head, he had had a couple of fantasies about it. The thought of Reno in bed with him and Zack… he shuddered involuntarily as he took Reno's…

~ _firm~_

… hand in his and tugged the grunting Turk out of his chair. He was with Zack now, and now was not the time for such…

~ _tantalizing~_

… inappropriate thoughts.

"I think I'll take ya up on that. The stretchin' thing," Reno chuckled and gave him a solicitous wink. Cloud just about told him to stop being such a flirt when a groan left the normally agile Turk's mouth. Reno put his hand briefly on Cloud's arm to steady himself before he started to walk as if he was trying to suppress a limp.

* * *

"I _don't_ need to see this!"

Cissnei got off Rude's lap and moved a couple of steps away from him. Rude rolled his shoulders and straightened his glasses, clearing his throat lightly.

"Get a damn room," Reno blurted. He collapsed into his chair and glared at his partner.

~ _show off~_

"Well, I have to be going anyway," Cissnei said. She kissed Rude on the cheek and quickly left the office.

Reno glared at her as she left, and then turned the glare to Rude. "You two are progressing well." He knew he sounded bitter, but his nerves were too shot to care. He should be happy that Rude found a woman that wasn't all uptight about Rude's naturally untalkative nature. Seeing his partner making out with the Prissy Sissy was not making him feel any better, however.

After spending a half-hour with Cloud's hands pressing into his feet and knees in a non-sexual way,

~ _damn it all~_

… was testing his already frayed nerves. Cloud just did not realize what he did to him. The SOLDIER wannabe had no idea how his sexy innocence was just so damn – well, sexy.

Rude gave a small affirmative grunt and looked down at his computer keyboard, almost as if he was embarrassed that he got caught in a smooching session.

Reno started his computer and rubbed his thighs, and was quite amazed at how better his legs _did_ feel. It wasn't one-hundred percent, but they didn't feel like they were going to give out on him at any moment. The ache was noticeably less pronounced, and some of his movement had improved.

~ _yah, you felt his hands all too well~_

He tried to distract himself with the emails that were popping up on the screen, but his thoughts went to how Cloud had told him to lie down on the floor and remove his shoes.

~ _body reacted totally inappropriately~_

Reno couldn't bend to reach his shoes and Cloud had to remove them; he had laughed and taunted him about his lack of flexibility.

"Thought a Turk could handle anything?" Cloud had said. Reno couldn't even think of smart remark to throw back at him – all he could manage was, 'Shut up'. Cloud had laughed as he sat cross-legged on the mat by Reno's legs, taking a foot into his hands and pressing his fingers into them.

It hurt at first.

~ _stung like hell. Whimpered like a baby~_

Cloud told him to stop being a wimp as he pressed his fingers across his arch, and then kneaded the outer edge of his foot in the most painful way. "My mom used to do this reflexology stuff until people started to call her a witch. She taught me. It works to get through some of the torture that they put you through around here."

After awhile, the touch became very…

~ _sensual~_

 _…_ relaxing. He had propped himself up, leaning on his elbows as Cloud manipulated the outer edge of his feet with his knuckle. He felt his legs start to feel better.

"Crap, I think it's working," Reno had blurted as he felt the pressure and tension around his knee give a little.

"Of course it is," Cloud said as he went to remove Reno's other shoe. "Do you think I want to touch your stinky feet?" Of course, the way Cloud ducked his head and hid behind his bangs, told Reno that he wasn't minding all that much.

~ _Strife is so damn cute~_

Stupid thoughts of pinning and kissing the SOLDIER wannabe to the mat started to infiltrate his thoughts. He wanted to. His _plan_ was coming back to him, and he was beginning to think that it would be a good idea again.

Of course, that was when Cloud started to ask him what was bothering him. "I can tell it's more than just the training session."

Reno just about gave into those large blue eyes looking down at him. He just about spilled his guts over what had happened in the last couple of weeks about Rufus, about the clothes he bought him, about how the two _amatore's_ kissing was unbelievably hot, about his _plan_ , the message in his smokes, even about Sephiroth.

But he didn't. He just laughed it off like he was being overworked and mistreated by his boss.

~ _only a small fib there. It wasn't Tseng that was mistreating him ~_

Cloud seemed to accept that, told him to drink lots of water and go to bed early…

~ _stupid Spike-Brain even put my shoes back on~_

… as he helped him up from the gym mat and announced that he had to get to his lesson. Reno grumbled about getting back to watch the kiddies eat their lunch. Cloud had placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently. And in a soft, concerned voice, he said, "If you need more help, give me a call."

~ _did Cloud realize what he did to him? ~_

"How was your meeting with Tseng?"

Rude's voice brought him out of thoughts. "Huh? Meeting? Oh. Right. Meeting. Uh. Fine. No problem." He knew his voice sounded clipped. He really didn't want to talk about _that_ , with his partner.

Rude was staring at him. Reno could feel his partner's hidden eyes analyzing him; he hated Rude's intense stare. Sometimes, he wished his partner was more vocal so that his head didn't fill in the blanks. He was pretty sure that Rude knew about his thing for Cloud and Zack. Reno was aware of his drunken banter the night of the drinking contest; he had never been one to hold his tongue when he was drinking. He just wished he remembered everything that he had said, and it was not something that he really wanted to ask his partner.

"What did you get in trouble for?"

Reno had to think quickly. "Uh. There was something wrong with my last report."

~ _lame~_

One of Rude's eyebrows rose over his sunglasses. "Your report?"

"Yeah, my report. You know how I suck at that stuff, yo," Reno said. He could see that Rude wasn't buying it. Rude stared at him, and Reno felt the urge to speak again. He needed to break the silence that was eating at him. This was how Rude got information out of him. He was thankful when Rude spoke.

"Is seeing Cissnei with me bothering you that much?" Rude asked.

He thought he was bothered with him screwing Sissy? Reno chuckled and quickly moved into full blown laughter. He tried to stop when he saw the annoyed look on his partner's face. "Oh, man!" Reno had to take in a deep breath to continue talking. "I needed that laugh, there, partner. Man. Nah, that's just kinda weird and all, but it's not buggin' me like that, yo."

~ _what's bothering me is my lack of action~_

Rude shook his head and grunted.

Reno continued to snicker and focused on his computer. He started to cut and paste the day's lunchroom mayhem report together. The emails that were in there were tasks that could put off until later.

His phone rang and he absently picked it up. "Yo, Reno here."

" _Reno."_

"Boss," he said and felt his whole body tensing. He didn't want to actually talk to Tseng. He wanted to let the memory fade a bit before he was confronted.

" _I need to speak to you_ ," Tseng said formally.

"Is this another trap, yo?" Reno had to ask. Tseng did seem genuinely shocked as he darted out of the office after the interruption, but he didn't want to be set up again.

" _No, it is not_ ," Tseng said.

"Did you leave me those smokes?" Reno said as he patted the pocket that contained the package with the mysterious note.

" _Pardon?"_ Tseng said.

"Never mind, Boss. Yo, what do ya need to speak to me 'bout?" Reno said, shaking his head. He didn't like where this path was leading. It was starting to freak him out just a little bit more. There were only two more people that were on his list that could have left him those smokes, and both options bothered him.

~ _why is my life becoming so complicated?~_

" _I was hoping that you would come to my office_ ," Tseng said.

"No fuckin' way!" Reno blurted. He heard Rude gasp and felt that intense look on his face.

Tseng was silent on the other end of the phone.

"Sorry, Boss. I just can't do that," Reno said. He felt himself start to shake a bit. Rufus was affecting him way too much. There was no way he could go to that office; it just felt like it was another trap. "Sorry, yo."

~ _man, I am so stupid~_

The silence was long on the other end of the phone before he heard Tseng speak again. " _I was not aware that the Vice-President was using my office for a_ private _meeting_."

"Whatever," Reno mumbled.

" _He is fond of you_ ," Tseng said in a soft voice.

"No shit, Boss." Reno snorted. "Is it just a game with him? I mean, one moment it's like, caring, and the next it's all serious control freak-like," Reno stumbled over his words and looked across to see a very confused-looking Rude.

~ _I just can't keep my mouth shut~_

" _I don't know, Reno,"_ Tseng said. " _I did warn you that he has broken bigger men than you."_

Reno clenched his teeth together. "Yeah. You warned me, Boss. I heard you laughing."

~ _Sephiroth warned me too~_

"Is this part of your amusement as well?" Reno heard his boss trying to interrupt him. "I'm not somethin' to be played with, and I don't feel like being a fuckin' toy for all you bigwigs' amusement."

" _Reno!"_ Tseng voice spoke sharply through the phone.

"Is there anything else, Boss?" Reno said, keeping his voice as even as possible, even though his hand holding the phone was shaking.

" _No_ ," Tseng said. " _We will discuss this further, when you have calmed down."_

"Whatever," Reno said and flipped the phone shut.

~ _I'm gonna die now~_

He let his head crash into his keyboard, and he groaned.

"What was that all about?" Rude demanded, now standing at his desk.

"Stupid report," he mumbled, not bothering to look up. He had just told his boss off, and Rude would be more than aware that it had nothing to do with a report.

"You just told off Tseng, because of a report?"

"Sure, why not?" Reno said and looked to where Rude was supposed to be standing. He wasn't at his desk, but was now beside him. Rude looked like he was going to say something, but was stopped by a ringing phone. Rude dutifully answered it with a few 'sir, yes, sir's and flipped his phone closed. Reno suspected who it was on the other end of the phone.

"Go home," Rude said. "I will escort you."

"Gotta write a report," he protested.

Rude grabbed his arm and pulled him out of his chair. He protested again, but Rude shook his head. "Let's go," he said, and started to drag him out of the office.

Reno had a moment of panic arise in him. "You aren't settin' me up, are ya?"

Rude grunted. "Do you need to be sedated?"

~ _a nice bottle of vodka would be nice~_

"I'm fine."

"You just told Tseng off. I don't think that you're okay," Rude said, still dragging him along. Reno was glad that Cloud had helped him with his legs; he wouldn't have been able to handle being dragged like a bag of potatoes if it were a couple of hours ago.

"Need a smoke, yo," Reno protested, once more.

"You can't wait until you get home?" Rude said as he dragged him into the elevator. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothin'," Reno said. "I just need a nap!"

~ _and a good long screw~_

Rude grunted again. Rude looked at his partner, and he was waiting for more of an answer than that.

The elevator opened and Rude dragged him down the hall, opened up his apartment and shoved him inside. Rude slammed the door hard behind him, and stood blocking it. "Spill it."

"Don't wanna," Reno said, hating the whinny sound of his voice.

Rude crossed his arms.

"Listen, partner." Reno sighed. "I jus' need to get a good night's sleep, maybe some good food, a little drinky, and I'll be right as rain, yo."

~ _liar~_

"You told off Tseng," Rude said, again. "You are not okay."

Reno mimicked Rude's stance and stared. Reno lasted three minutes before he threw his arms up in the air. "I don't wanna talk about it right now!"

"Do you even have food in the fridge?"

Rude knew him all too well when it came to his eating habits. "I think I got somethin' I can nuke." Reno liked good food, but he was not much of a cook. He ate out a lot, and his fridge was either empty or full of take-out boxes.

Rude let out a small sigh and shook his head, his body showing that he was giving up on asking the questions. "Do you want me to bring you something?"

"Nah," Reno said.

Rude tilted his head slightly.

"I'm sure. You gonna write my report?" Reno prodded.

Rude reached for the door. "Call when you aren't so crazy," he said and left.

"Never gonna happen, bro."

Rude didn't respond as he left.

~ _alone at last~_

Reno walked into his little dining area, and had to stop and rub his eyes.

~ _what the hell?~_

The anxiety that had been leaving him returned with full force again.

~ _what am I, a fuckin' girl?~_

There, sitting on the dining room table, sat a vase of fancy red flowers. Beside it was a clear bottle with a big red bow and attached note. He was almost scared to approach it.

~ _another gift~_

He was still trying to figure out who gave him the cigarettes, and now someone got him flowers and…

He approached the table and saw that the bottle was that of a expensive vodka. Banora apple flavoured.

 _~yummy~_

With a shaking hand, he reached for the folded piece of paper that had his name written in large flowing script. He then looked at the flowers.

~ _where do you get flowers in Midgar, anyway?~_

He decided that he was going to have a little drink first, before he dare open the note. He sat down at his table, keeping the note near as he opened the bottle and took a drink straight from it. Sweet and bitter, all in one; just what he needed to open the crazy note that was now under his hand.

He pulled out his smokes and opened it to see the note that was left for him there. He focused on the new note as he unfolded the piece of paper; he examined the words written in a large scrolling, elegant script.

 _  
**A small token. I hope you accept this as an apology for the interruption. Rufus.**   
_

He stared at the message with Rufus' flowing signature and the unsigned note inside the smokes. He took another drink.

The writing did not match.

All his fears were made real then. He had wished that it had been Rufus that had given him the smokes. Knowing that Sephiroth had replaced his damaged smokes was almost as disturbing as Rufus giving him the flowers, and his teasing.

* * *

Cloud being good with his hands…not just when he deals with a sword (double entendre intended). Now Reno definitively knows who got him the smokes, and wasn't it sweet of Rufus to get Reno flowers and booze as an apology.

I hope I didn't put Reno into too much trouble for yelling at Tseng like that.

FYI: Freudian slip is a verbal or written flub-up in which one says what one really meant, rather than what one meant to say, by accidentally adding or subtracting a word or substituting a similar word that means something that indicates what one really thinks. The phenomenon is named after Sigmund Freud, who first described it. **In other words, it is when you say one thing, but mean your mother.**

Well, what do you think?

Soyna


	27. Rye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre - Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

You know who we haven't heard from in the last little while… Sephiroth.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **RYE**

* * *

"What the hell?" Zack said as he grabbed Kunsel's arm and halted him in the hallway. Kunsel had been walking with his head down and he looked as if he didn't want to be noticed.

~ _don't blame him~_

Zack barely held back his laughter that was bubbling forth. "Is this a new fashion statement?"

Kunsel frowned and looked away from him. "Reno decided to have a little bit of revenge."

"What for?"

A SOLDIER walked by, giving Zack a curt salute and continued around the corner. The SOLDIER had the courtesy not to start laughing until he was out of sight.

"I guess he was still pissed at me for telling a few people that he lost to Cloud in that drinking contest." Kunsel ruffled his mutilated hair as if to emphasize a point.

Zack started to laugh at how outrageous his friend looked. Kunsel's hair had been a rich dark brown, but was now a combination of blotchy white, with pale brown and a sickly yellow. It was whitest at the base of his scalp, and the color grew a little darker towards the tips. A very bad bleach job, seemed to be the case. Zack really tried not to laugh.

"You can stop laughing anytime, now," Kunsel said. His face was crimson with embarrassment, but still maintained an angry look.

"Whatever, you say, Skunky," Zack said, calming down to a chuckle as he ruffled the streaked, blotchy hair. "How'd he do it?" Zack asked.

"Bleach in my shampoo."

As Zack suspected. "Wow, I didn't think he was that upset with you," Zack chuckled. "I thought he was over it by now."

"Obviously not," Kunsel said and frowned as a secretary walked by, and wasn't courteous enough to wait until she was around the corner before she started to laugh. Zack couldn't help but snicker. Kunsel glared at him and punched his arm. "Shut up!"

"Sorry, sorry," Zack said. "But it looks damn funny."

"You wouldn't find it funny if it happened to you," Kunsel said, pouting.

"When did Red find the time to pull this prank?" Zack knew that Reno was busy with the punishments that Tseng had given him. Reno was always up for a prank, and it seemed that he found time to sabotage Kunsel's shampoo bottle. "Tseng has him on a pretty tight leash right now."

"Yeah, well, he found the time," Kunsel grumbled. "I didn't think he would be that upset. I mean, everyone saw Rude drag him out of there!"

"Rude doesn't have any hair to bleach," Zack said.

"Hardy-har-har," Kunsel said in an annoyed tone, and was looking quite angry. That look quickly melted away as he stood straight and saluted. "Sir."

Zack looked over and saw Sephiroth approaching with a notebook in hand.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Kunsel, but then turned his gaze to Zack. "I need to speak with you. Can you meet me in my office in ten minutes?"

"Right-o," Zack said. "I'll just get a cup of coffee."

Sephiroth nodded. "Grab me a cup as well." His head went down to look at the notebook in his hand, and then walked down the hall.

"Right-o?" Kunsel whispered as he watched Sephiroth's intimidating form walk down the hall and disappear into a file room.

"What?"

"You just said 'right-o' to Sephiroth," Kunsel said, doing an air quote gesture. "That's awfully casual."

"You think?"

"He would skin anyone else alive if they just went 'right-o', Zack," Kunsel said, again with the gesture.

Zack shrugged. "I guess." It took him nearly a year to get Sephiroth to stop calling him Zackary. He never really thought of the progression of how casual they talked to each other. He had become familiar with Sephiroth, and took it for granted now. It didn't seem that long ago, when Angeal had taken him under his wing, where Sephiroth had been formal and stiff with him. There was a time that Sephiroth would barely look at him, never mind speak to him.

~ _I was lucky if I got a grunt~_

It had been a slow shift. It took him awhile to stop becoming stiff and saluting every time he saw the silver-haired man. Their banter had become a little easier and strayed away from work topics from time to time, and it wasn't forced as it had been in the past.

~ _when did that happen?~_

He wondered if Sephiroth had noticed the shift as well.

~ _he picked out your clothes~_

Kunsel broke him out of his thoughts. "Well, see ya later, Zack. I'm going to go shave my head."

Zack laughed. "Good luck with that."

* * *

"Well, this whole situation just sucks," Zack said. Sephiroth looked over to the relaxed form of his Second in Command. The man was slouched in the leather visitor chair, and his heavy boots rested on the corner of his desk. "It's just a big fuckin' mess."

"I concur," Sephiroth said in a low voice, leaning back in his own chair. He was tired. He was tired of the whole situation and didn't know for how much longer he would be able to take it.

Zack took his legs off Sephiroth's desk and leaned forward in a serious manner. "How are you handling this? I mean, you lost your best friends. I know you and Genesis were real close and all. It must not be easy killing his clones."

~ _not easy at all~_

Sephiroth found himself frowning. "I'm managing," he lied.

The last mutated batch that bore the face of the man that he…

~ _cared for~_

 _…_ was intimate with was almost more than he could endure. He still did not understand the full motivation of his two friends for leaving, and least of all - the motivation of Genesis.

~ _never could understand Genesis'_ _motivation much~_

"I need more coffee," Sephiroth said, looking at his long empty cup.

"How about something stronger?" Zack stood abruptly.

"Stronger?"

Zack bounced to his heels and said, "Be right back."

Sephiroth watched Zack leave before he could protest his action. His eyes fell on the pictures in the open file in front of him. He quickly closed it, unable to look at the freakish forms of the man that once shared his bed.

He frowned. He had sent Zack on the missions so that he wouldn't have to face him. He sent Zack to kill Angeal, his own mentor.

~ _and he is asking you how you are doing~_

Sephiroth cringed at how selfish he had been.

Of course, he had been having plenty of selfish thoughts as of late, and one of the predominant ones was the _other_ loud mouth redhead. He had not seen Reno since the day in the garage. That stupid encounter had plagued him and he was concerned about his childish actions. He did not understand why he escalated the encounter in such a way.

~ _didn't like the answers he was giving you about Zack~_

He did have sympathy for Reno dealing with Rufus, in the same way that Genesis did. Rufus was a domineering type of man and had an aura that seemed to control the strongest of wills. Genesis crumbled under his touch, and it seemed that Reno did as well.

Sephiroth was not sure what possessed him to buy and deliver the smokes.

~ _silly thing to do~_

He owed the smoking pest nothing, least of all the cancer sticks.

Sephiroth had tried to keep himself busy with mindless paperwork and performing extra workout regimes in order to keep his thoughts away from the redhead and...

~ _don't forget the raven-haired man~_

 _…_ Zack.

~ _shouldn't be thinking about either of them~_

Zack had a new interest and seemed quite content with that infantryman, Cloud Strife. He could tell the days that he spent time with the boy, because he would wander in with a greater bounce in his step.

He ran his hand through his bangs and sighed. He had no right to be jealous, and yet he felt that pang when he thought about Zack with another. He had no right to lay claim to him. He had been denying that he had grown fond of the man, and now it was too late. He knew that he should be going for someone that was available. Why would he want something that he couldn't have? There were plenty of other people that were willing to offer themselves to him, and yet he was pining for his Lieutenant.

~ _and Reno~_

But he didn't like the Turk. He was obnoxious and nothing more than a passing fancy. He was a Turk, and that should be distasteful enough for him to divert his attentions elsewhere. The man had interests that were nothing like his own. There was nothing that should be attractive about the Turk.

~ _yeah, keep telling yourself that~_

He knew that Reno was available, even with Rufus' obvious attention. Rufus' interest did not bother him, but amused him, the same as it did with Genesis.

He could not properly discern his thoughts on this matter. He felt as if he were full of contradictions, and it was causing a low grade headache to start.

"Here we are," Zack said as he came in holding an amber-colored bottle and two clean mugs. His trademark smile was bright and wide as he entered. "Just what the doctor ordered."

"Rye? Is that really appropriate?" Sephiroth asked, finding himself grinning as well. Zack was always amusing, even in the smallest of things.

~ _that is why he grew on you~_

"Pfft, it's after six. We are officially off duty anyhow," Zack said and placed the cups on the table with a loud clatter, and went to open the bottle.

"Where did you steal that from?"

He watched him pour the amber liquid into the mugs. Zack's smile turned into a mischievous one, but didn't answer.

"Am I going to receive a theft report in the morning?" Sephiroth asked as Zack pushed the cup towards him.

"Most likely. I'll replace it. Don't worry about it," Zack said, and with the mug in hand resumed sitting with his feet propped on the desk. He took a sip of the liquor with a large sigh. "Good stuff. Drink up."

Sephiroth seldom drank. He found most alcohol not to his liking, and he did not indulge very often. He took a sip of the strong liquor and was surprised that he liked the flavour. They sat in silence for awhile. Sephiroth enjoyed the silent company of the SOLDIER as they drank the potent liquor. He allowed himself to actually…relax.

"Now, back to you. You have been awfully edgy lately," Zack said, breaking the silence. "You've been hiding in the records department in the VR room all the time. What's going on?" Zack leaned his head back in the chair and lolled it to the side.

"It has been stressful," he carefully said.

"You need to find something to help you de-stress a little," Zack said and took another drink.

"And what do you suggest I do? Grab myself an infantryman to make myself happy?" Sephiroth knew that it was spiteful, and he shouldn't have said it. His mouth was rushing ahead of his thoughts.

Zack nearly choked on his drink. He threw himself forward from his relaxed pose and his feet thumped loudly to the floor. Zack's cheeks were bright red as he coughed and took in a big gasping breath. Sephiroth thought fleetingly of apologizing.

~ _no right to say anything on that matter~_

"Well," Zack said, and his cough went to a chuckle. "That would be a start."

It was his turn to be shocked at the comment.

"I'm sure you could snag one," Zack said. "There is this blue-haired boy that would just fall all over you, if you were so inclined."

~ _hardly appropriate~_

Zack seemed to sense his discomfort, but it didn't stop him from continuing. "Or if you want some beefier dudes, there is this sharpshooter in…"

"Enough Zackary," Sephiroth said. "I do not need a match maker."

"You need something," Zack said.

"It seems to have helped you," Sephiroth said, taking another drink of the rye. With how this conversation was going, he was going to surely need a refill.

"You know about that?" Zack said, rubbing the back of his neck, and looking a little sheepish sitting there.

~ _like a scolded puppy~_

"I saw you leaving that room at Monteno's with your _date_. I saw you with that blond," Sephiroth said. "I am assuming he is the reason you were so _chipper_ this morning."

Zack's smile grew a bit. "Well, it kinda just happened."

Sephiroth shook his head at his Second in Command. He was always a horrible flirt. He honestly thought ShinRa was going to have little Zack's running around with how Zack flirted with women. He was tempted to ask why there was a change, or if he had missed it. He was not the best at interpreting other's emotions at times.

"Kind of happened?" Sephiroth spoke the words slowly.

Zack took another sip of his drink. "Yeah."

Sephiroth leaned back in his chair and sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. He then placed the cup on his desk and looked at the ceiling. He had read Cloud's file a couple of times, and still did not understand the thrill of the boy. He was smaller than the average SOLDIER, his fighting abilities were average, and the only place he excelled was his studies, which were all above average. He lowered his head, turning to look at Zack. He was greeted by his Second in Command with a glassy look plastered across his face.

~ _and then all it takes to peak your interest is red hair~_

"You are truly pathetic, Zack." Sephiroth chuckled at how smitten Zack looked. The same could be said about him and how quickly his attentions have been turned.

"Hey, well, can't blame me. Have you seen him?" Zack said a bit defensively.

"I am afraid that blonds are not my type."

~ _yeah, you prefer proud redheads and dark-haired flirts~_

"Don't know what you're missing, there, Seph," Zack said as he took another drink. "Shit, he's gonna kill me for talking like this." He went back to his relaxed pose, with his booted feet on his desk once again. "There must be something in the rye."

Sephiroth was trying to figure out how to word his question of how long Zack and the blond had been seeing each other, when Zack spoke again.

"You got anyone you are at least looking at?" Zack asked.

Sephiroth looked away from Zack. "There is someone that I have my eye on."

"Oh," Zack said in an amused tone. He looked into his cup as if he were examining the contents. "Dish."

"I believe it is a cup," Sephiroth said while he was examining his own cup. It was nearly empty. He did not remember drinking so much, and it was obviously loosening his tongue a little too much.

Zack laughed. "Man, you have the weirdest humour sometimes. I meant – dish it out. Tell me! Come on, who is it? I haven't seen you eyeing anyone."

"It is none of your concern," he said. "I am not asking details about your sex life, and I will not divulge mine."

Zack got that mischievous smile on his face. "You have to have a sex life to give me the details." Zack reached for the bottle. "Top up?"

He placed his cup beside Zack's in silence, as he tried to push back the sensual thought of topping Zack. He watched Zack generously fill up the cup before he returned back to his overly relaxed pose.

Sephiroth found himself leaning back in his chair and was almost tempted to put his feet on his desk.

~ _Zack does relax you~_

"What is it about this Cloud that you are so enamoured with?" Sephiroth asked as he watched Zack's throat work while he swallowed a mouthful of the amber liquid. He didn't understand why he had been attracted to Genesis. He didn't understand what drew him to the raven-haired man in front of him, and he had no clue why he was even thinking of the Turk.

Zack shrugged and looked a little embarrassed.

~ _nothing like discussing your sex life with your superior~_

"Geez, it's kinda hard to place. We were buds right off the bat," Zack said, and then grew a little solemn. "He helped me get through what happened…in Modeoheim." Zack's face grew somber as he must have been remembering that day. The grim look quickly left his face and a smile sparkled in his eyes. "And he's damn cute!"

Sephiroth grunted to hold back his laughter.

"He doesn't like me calling him cute though, so don't say anythin'," Zack said quickly. Sephiroth closed his eyes at an old memory of Genesis. It was a trip to Banora, and he had met Genesis' parents, specifically his mother. The drunk of a woman had been thrilled to show naked baby pictures of Genesis, pinching her son's cheek and announcing that he was still as cute as when he was two.

"Grown men don't usually like to be considered cute," Sephiroth said as he recovered from the past. How Genesis had scowled…

~ _stop thinking about him~_

He rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache getting stronger. That was the past. The past could not be changed and his mistakes could not be undone. He wasn't around anymore, and he should not be dwelling on things that were not in his control.

~ _it is making you edgy~_

"Yeah, that's what he said too," Zack said as he took a big drink of the rye. "I can still think it though."

Sephiroth let a chuckle slip out. Zack's smile grew wider.

"Anyway, is there anyway I could get it out of you who you are interested in?" Zack said.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Zackary."

"No need to get all huffy," Zack said. "So, you are okay, right?"

"All things considering," Sephiroth said. "I believe this uncomfortable conversation is enough for the evening."

"I could go for a bit more," Zack said and reached for the bottle. "Since I have to buy a new one anyway, we might as well enjoy this."

~ _only Zack would want to carry on a_ _n_ _uncomfortable conversation~_

"I believe I have drank enough of that," Sephiroth said. He had not touched the drink since Zack filled his cup. He felt a bit of a rush, and his words were flowing too smoothly as it were. He did not wish to let his words spout forward without thought behind them. He already had done enough of that.

"Loosen up a bit," Zack said. "You are only human."

Sephiroth shook his head. "ShinRa would have the world believe that I am more than that."  
"Yeah, well, they don't know you."

Sephiroth looked at the young, talented fighter sitting there, much too relaxed, as he gazed at him with brilliant mako eyes. He knew why Angeal had taken the vibrant boy under his wing. Zack was not one to let the world around him depress him. Zack had dutifully followed the command of his mentor and learned quickly, and always had a smile on his face. His quick wit and honorable attitude had got him to First Class, and allowed him to stay friends with everyone on the way. He did not know a single person who could possibly dislike Zack.

~ _so honorable that he even killed his own mentor~_

"I am sorry," Sephiroth blurted.

Zack gave him a confused look. "What for?"

"Leaving you with all the dirty work."

~ _fighting those I could not face~_

"I do think I need to retire for the evening." Sephiroth stood and looked down at the calm SOLDIER, who only moved his head to look at him.

There was sadness in his eyes. "It's alright. I can take it," Zack said. "I kept asking for the dirty work, as it was."

"You need not be saddled with what should have been mine to deal with," Sephiroth said.

"Could you have dealt with Genesis?" Zack said in a serious tone. "I couldn't reason with him, and I ended up - well, you know how it turned out."

~ _should have been able to~_

"I do not know," Sephiroth answered honestly. His eyes went to the file, which was hiding the pictures of the clones of Genesis. "But as it seems, I may have yet to find out."

Zack slouched further, and let his feet collapse to the floor in a loud thump. "Damn depressing to think of," Zack said and stood, stretching. "Well, I guess I'll grab a bite. Cloud is on night patrol, so I'm going to scare him."

Sephiorth shook his head. "I thought you liked him."

"Yeah, he's cute when I sneak up on him," Zack said.

"Should you not be discrete with your relationship?"

"Well yeah. I used to scare him before we started with the dating thing," Zack said with a shy smile. "Sharpens his skills." Zack was absolutely smitten with this young infantryman.

~ _was I ever that smitten with Genesis?~_

He frowned as he answered his inner thoughts. _Smitten_ was not a word that described how turbulent his relationship had been. Genesis had said it was passionate, but that was not the word, either…

"You are thinking about Genesis, aren't you?" Zack said and put a comforting hand on his arm. Sephiroth pulled away from the touch. He did not want the warmth, when the only thing he was allowed from him would be the hand on his arm.

~ _should have approached him sooner~_

"And how did you know of my relationship with Genesis, anyway?" Sephiroth asked. It was not common knowledge, and they had both preferred it that way. Angeal knew, of course, and there was Rufus, but he was not sure how Zack discovered it. Angeal was not one to spread gossip, and neither was Rufus.

"Genesis let it slip once," Zack said with a sheepish look. "I asked him why he was walking funny and he made some remark about riding a silver stallion. It took me awhile to get it."

~ _silver stallion?~_

He must have been glaring because Zack took a step back. "His words, not mine."

"He always had a problem with his mouth." Sephiroth scowled.

"That's not what he said," Zack chuckled.

"Keep that up, Zackary, and I will ask Strife about that black bag you brought back to your apartment."

Zack made a small, scared laugh and his cheeks gained a rosy color. "Okay. I got a little carried away."

"Yes. You did." Sephiroth said. "Goodnight, Zack. Go play, and try not to get shot when you scare him."

"Right-o," Zack said with a mock salute, charming smile, and a tip of the bottle of rye.

Sephiroth smiled. Zack's antics were always amusing.

* * *

Well, A light angsty chapter? Is that even possible?

I know you all want to know what is going to happen with Reno and who he is going to be screwing, if I ever let him have anyone…my mind is a jumble with the horror that I can inflict upon poor Reno!

Happy Thanksgiving, to all you American's out there.

Soyna


	28. Say it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

Okay, this one is pretty intense and not with angst this time. There is not much plot and a lot of *ahem* interactions between Cloud and Zack. Very Smutty. Just so you know and all. Enjoy.

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **SAY IT**

* * *

~ _not going to give in~_

But it was _so_ hard.

~ _and hurting too~_

But he was _not_ going to give in.

~ _it's been over an hour~_

A very _long_ hour.

Especially with the most delightfully tasty sight that he had handcuffed to his bed.

Cloud was stretched out, arms pulled taut above his head with a blindfold securely hiding blue eyes. The metal cuffs were wrapped around his slender wrists, leaving his lithe, naked body twisting temptingly against the sheets. Cloud's soft pleading voice was filling his ears and trying to pull him in.

"Are you going to say it?" Zack said in a husky whisper. He wanted to finish ravishing the body that was obviously ready for him.

~ _can't give in yet~_

"No," Cloud moaned and turned his head to where he was hearing Zack's voice. Zack was not going to give in until he uttered that simple word. Cloud's arms pulled against his restraints as he arched his back and moaned. Zack had to close his eyes and take a deep breath.

~ _want~_

"All you have to do is say it," Zack said as he sat on the side of the bed. Cloud twisted toward him.

"No."

~ _damn it. Why is he being so stubborn?~_

Zack chewed on his lip as he reached between Cloud's legs to touch the end of the toy that he had placed there an hour ago. He grabbed it and twisted the end of the plug. Cloud's wonderful moans and pants filled the room as he twirled the toy inside of him. Zack wanted to pull it out and take him, but he couldn't do that. Cloud had to say it.

"Please, please," Cloud started to chant with a slightly raspy voice.

"Say it."

Cloud gasped as Zack pushed the plug into his twisting bottom. Cloud let out a hoarse scream.

~ _want~_

Zack stopped stimulating Cloud, but remained sitting on the bed. He watched the highly aroused blond twist against the sheets. He listened to the hoarse moans that were leaving those kissable lips.

"Quit being mean," Cloud whimpered as he calmed down.

"Say it then," Zack demanded, even though he was starting to think that he wasn't going to be able to hold out for much longer. He had kept his boxers on to give him the semblance of control, even though he found himself adjusting the uncomfortable fit.

"No," Cloud said again.

Zack didn't realize that he had let out a frustrated growl until he heard a light chuckle leave Cloud and saw the self-righteous smirk on his lips.

~ _can't lose~_

Zack looked down at the tempting body, allowing a hand to trace down from Cloud's shoulder to his groin. When they began this teasing game, Cloud was able to control his actions and sounds. Cloud did a pretty good job for a little while, but now he couldn't control his shivers and moans when Zack touched him.

 _~He has to be close to saying it by now_   
_._

"Zack," Cloud said. "Please."

"Say it," Zack said as he ran his hand across the taut belly. He watched Cloud's member twitch and drip; Zack couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight.

~ _want~_

"No."

~ _stubborn~_

He leaned over and kissed the smooth line of Cloud's neck. Cloud whimpered and turned his head so that Zack had easier access. Zack licked and nibbled, drawing out moans and causing Cloud to squirm more. He kissed up the neck to Cloud's ear and nibbled there, and then in a whisper, "Say it."

Cloud groaned and shook his head.

"I know you want it," Zack said and ran his hand down the heaving chest. "Just say it."

Cloud growled through clenched teeth.

~ _defiant~_

He was going to make Cloud say that he was sorry for shooting him, even if it took the rest of the night.

~ _if you can hold out~_

That was going to be the problem. His control was becoming thin and seeing the body of his captive was tempting him to go further than just the light, teasing touches.

But he wasn't going to lose.

~ _just take him already~_

He sat back a bit and took a couple of deep breaths, not letting his inner voice control him. He had to win.

It wasn't hard for him to get Cloud in the cuffs. "It's a small apology for shooting me," Zack had said as he stripped the shirt off the infantryman.

Cloud had smiled at him. "You don't deserve an apology, but I still will let you cuff me," Cloud said as they kissed.

"You shot me."

"You scared me!" Cloud said.

"I've scared you before."

"You should have been able to avoid it."

"Shut up," Zack said. They parted and he went to the drawer to pull out the cuffs. Cloud sat on the edge of the bed, looking on – shirtless and smug – as the drawer closed.

"You just nicked me," Zack said, thinking about the stinging scratch that had left a mark under his right shoulder armour.

"Whatever makes you feel better," Cloud said with a smile.

"You should at least say you're sorry," Zack said as he clipped the first cuff around Cloud's wrist.

"Why should I?" Cloud said and yelped slightly as Zack pushed him roughly onto the bed, covering his body with his own and kissing him hungrily.

Cloud hummed and was not bothered, or did not notice, that Zack was lifting his arms. Zack looped the cuff through his headboard slat and attached it to his other wrist. Cloud made a little grunt and tugged at the cuffs. He frowned slightly at the restricted movement.

"Say that you're sorry or I won't let you come," Zack said. It had been a good thought. Cloud was a little horny devil, so he thought that this would cause the blond to crumble and apologize. Usually he had to stop Cloud _from_ apologizing, and he thought it wouldn't take long for that simple word to tumble out of his mouth, especially when he was already so aroused.

He watched as an odd smirk came across the young face and a sparkle that was full of defiance and mischief appear in his eyes. "You won't be able to hold out that long," Cloud said.

And the game was on. He couldn't back down. Cloud was quite tempting, but Zack was sure that he had some control and would be able to resist him until he got the apology. He was going to prove to Cloud that he would be able to hold out. He would show him, and Zack had started out being very determined to get that apology.

He blindfolded his captive. Cloud tried to rub the blindfold off at first but quickly stopped as Zack stroked down his sides and sent him trembling, even though Cloud did refrain from moaning.

He demanded the apology.

Cloud kept saying no.

He had gone to the drawer and thought about the toys that were there. He thought about the dildo, but that would stimulate him way too much. He wasn't going to allow him to come until he got the simple word. He pulled out the anal plug and lube and gently ran the edge of the toy down Cloud's side. Cloud had whimpered and asked what he was doing.

"I'll tell you, if you apologize."

Cloud just grunted and shook his head.

He thought for sure, when he got him lubed up to put the plug in, that Cloud would buckle and apologize.

He didn't.

Zack thought the slow insertion and twirling of the plug would get an apology out of his now heavily moaning captive, but Cloud was refusing to give in. Zack slowly backed away and let Cloud lay there twitching and listening for him. He asked him if he wanted to be touched and, of course, Cloud begged to be touched.

"Then apologize."

Cloud gave a grunt, "No."

Of course, he couldn't go without touching for long, but he kept the touches light and teasing. Cloud's mantra was nearly a constant plea for more, but the blond still refused to apologize.

"Zack," Cloud moaned. "I want you."

~ _I want you too~_

Zack panted and rested his head on the younger man's chest.

"Fill me," Cloud whimpered.

Those words sent a thrill right through him as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and clenched his teeth.

~ _not gonna make it~_

Did he want to hold out for the apology? Zack was hurting and he _wanted_ him.

~ _why doesn't he just apologize?~_

Cloud's breathy voice reached his ears, "I need you."

Zack felt his whole body shiver and his control weaken even further. He ran his hand down the taut belly of his captive and tried to even his ragged breathing. He twisted, trying to get more comfortable, as his boxers were becoming sticky with his own anticipation.

"Take me, Zack," Cloud said in a raspy…

~ _and ultimately sexy~_

 _…_ voice. The body under him pressed against him.

"Apologize," Zack said, but there was no demand in it any more. Cloud gave a grunt and lifted his hips gently in response. Zack couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to feel that warmth wrapped around him. Zack pulled away from Cloud to remove his boxers. He would make him apologize while he pounded the rebellious infantryman into the mattress.

~ _make it so he can't walk in the morning~_

Cloud whimpered as he pulled away. Zack removed his boxers and asked for another apology, but Cloud shook his head and grunted. He reached over to grab a condom and shakily placed it on himself.

He watched as Cloud arched his back and called to him with a whimper. He didn't ask for another apology as he moved so that he was at the end of the bed; that time was over. Zack positioned Cloud's legs to make sure they were spread wide, to allow him easy access to the blond. Zack reached down, and twirled the toy again. Cloud whimpered and thrust his hips delightfully. Cloud's cock was weeping against his belly and looking ignored. He wanted to kiss that neglected organ and take it in his mouth, but that would have to wait until later.

Zack positioned himself in between the legs, stroking the quivering thighs, leaning over the tempting body and getting ready to take him. Zack didn't give any warning as he pulled out the plug in one sharp motion, and Cloud made a cute squeaking sound. Zack carelessly threw the plug to the side. He wasn't going to let Cloud recover from the removal before he entered the warm body with one quick motion. He froze his movements…

~ _playing for a hour was way too long~_

…trying to prevent himself from coming yet. He wanted to last a little longer than a couple of rushed thrusts.

Cloud wasn't being still. He moved his hips up and down. He threw his head back and let out a sound that caused Zack's belly to tighten. Zack reached forward and forced the tempting body to be still. Cloud let out a small whimper as his whole body was quivering with excitement. Zack started to move, slow and easy thrusts. He kept one hand pressed firmly beside him and used his other hand to squeeze Cloud's hot, throbbing organ that was pressed between their bodies.

Cloud tossed his head and drew his teeth over his bottom lip.

~ _cute and sexy~_

Zack twirled his thumb over the slippery cap and kept his thrust as even as possible.

"So good," Cloud moaned. "Gonna…" The rest of his sentence was lost in an ecstasy-filled moan as Zack felt the velvety organ pulse in his hand. Cloud's insides quivered around him as he came. Zack gave a couple of quick strokes that seemed to prolong Cloud's orgasm and bring his own along.

~ _sweet Shiva~_

He didn't even realize that he had closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he admired his cum-covered lover laid out in front of him. He let go of the now softening cock and eased his own out of the warmth.

He went through the process of disposing of the condom and cleaning up the mess that covered his captive's belly. He found the key to the cuffs and released Cloud, rubbing his wrists and finally removing the blindfold.

Cloud's blue eyes looked a little dazed, but quite pleased. Zack gave him a gentle kiss before covering them with the blanket. Zack pulled the young man so that his head rested against his chest and held him with a tight arm around his waist.

Zack looked at Cloud's wrists and saw that they looked a little red and bruised. "Did I hurt you?"

Cloud shook his head. "I'm good," he said, his voice sounding like a purr. Cloud hummed to himself and then let out an amused sound. "I told you, you wouldn't last," Cloud said, one of his hands reaching up and tracing the fresh scratch on Zack's shoulder.

"Damn it," Zack cursed and pinched Cloud's side, causing him to yelp. "Just go to sleep and you can apologize to me tomorrow."

Cloud made a small snorting laugh as he pressed himself against the large SOLDIER. "Unlikely," he said.

"You could have killed me."

"Pft, a First Class SOLDIER should be able to dodge a bullet from someone like me." Cloud said and ran his finger over the scratch. "That scratch will be gone by morning. The paperwork was more painful than that."

"You are belittling how much you hurt me," Zack said, trying to make his voice sound like he was hurt, but did not succeed.

"Whatever."

"I will get an apology out of you," Zack said as he nuzzled into the blond hair and inhaled a deep breath.

~ _smells so good~_

"You can try, but I don't think so," Cloud said with a yawn.

Zack couldn't help but laugh lightly. "Are you ever going to say that you're sorry?"

"Not if you punish me like that," Cloud said groggily. "Why would I wanna?"

Zack listened to Cloud's breathing as he fell asleep in his arms. He lost the challenge. He gave into the tempting man in his arms, but that only meant that he would have to try again. He would get that apology out of the young man that was cuddled against him.

~ _such a sinfully fun challenge~_

* * *

Clack and a little bit-o-bondage and delving into the drawer. No real plot or Reno here… I think I will torture Reno in the next chapter…just a little…

*sheepish smile* I started a **poll** …for future stories…in the … uh… you know… my TEASE universe… so… let me know which of the…  
~ _way too many~  
_ …ideas I have in my head, you would like to read about.

Well, I hoped you like this smexy little interlude.

Soy-Soy


	29. Dark Nation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:**

A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Authors Note** :

I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

Sigh… more Reno torture…

 **Disclaimer:**

Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **Dark Nation**

* * *

Reno had a few days to calm down. No other strange gifts had appeared in his apartment or on his desk.

~ _even though he could use some more of those smokes~_

He hadn't heard or seen either of the crazy ShinRa overlord's in a couple of days, and he was quite happy about that. The flowers that Rufus bought him were little creepy. He didn't understand why Rufus would buy him flowers.

~ _not a damn girl~_

He liked them, but he wasn't going to admit it to anyone. He told Rude to give them to Sissy, who surely gushed all over him for it. He had to tell Rude a big lie about how someone had delivered them to the wrong place while he was out, so he didn't want them to go to waste in his dump of an apartment. Rude promised him a bottle of vodka the next day with a silly grin on his face.

~ _could only imagine what Sissy did to make him look like a dolt~_

His only saving grace was actually seeing Cloud and having his magic fingers ease away some of his aches. It was becoming a practice that after that they ate the horrible food in the Mess, Cloud would help him with the aches and pain from the horrible boot camp.

~ _as long as Zack wasn't around~_

He didn't understand why Cloud's touch worked so well. His own fingers touching those points didn't do anything, but there was something in the pressure that Cloud applied that worked and made him feel better.

Today, Zack was hanging around and sitting on Cloud's left side. Reno grinned wide. He actually felt good after today's session, not that it would have stopped him from asking Cloud to ease the _pain_. Just knowing that he would be able to taunt the Fair Prince Zack was going to make up for the lack of a foot massage.

Reno plopped himself onto Cloud's right side, leaning against the blond for a moment, as he placed his food on the table. Zack gave him a glare. Reno challenged the look by staring right back at him and in a light tone asked, "Where'd ya get shot, yo?"

Reno already knew the answer, but he was going to ask anyway.

Cloud lowered his head and tried to hide the smug smile that was on his face into the collar of his uniform.

~ _damn, he's cute when he smiles~_

Zack gave a sheepish smile and laugh, and instinctively brought his hand up to his arm. "I didn't get shot."

Cloud made a small noise and Zack poked his side. Cloud continued to smile, but began to focus on his food again. John was across from Cloud and was trying hard to suppress his smile. Reno was sure that John was on the same patrol the other night as Cloud.

"So, Zackers, have I been hearin' things wrong?" Reno said. They had a good option for food today, that wasn't going to make him throw up. It was a chicken Caesar salad, and the sauce wasn't too salty and the chicken was not too tough. He could actually eat it. He also noted that everyone else at the table was eating the greasy looking burger – he doubted that it was beef in the bun - and overly deep-fried fries. The smell of the crap was almost turning him off his salad. Cloud nudged him with his elbow and gave him a warning look.

~ _pfft, like I am goin' to listen~_

"Must be," Zack said as he popped fries into his mouth. "Still stuck down here?"

"Yep," Reno said and stabbed at his salad. Tseng told him in no uncertain terms that he was stuck in this job and boot camp. He didn't think that he deserved the extra time, but Tseng told him that he had to cool down.

~ _jerk~_

"Heard ya decide to check," Reno cleared his throat and in a more amused tone continued, "the efficiency of the troops."

Cloud choked on a fry that he was chewing on. Reno went to pat Cloud's back but saw that Zack's hand was already there. Reno narrowed his eyes at the hand and Zack did the same.

~ _still overprotective~_

John spoke next, "We were prepared. AVALANCHE has been making its move again." Reno looked over at the infantryman. "They were attempting to get to Reactor 4 again."

"We already had one scare that night," Cloud said, looking over at Zack with bright blue eyes. "We were all jumpy."

"So," Reno drawled, noticing that Zack still had his hand on Cloud's back and was moving his thumb against his shoulder blade, "You shot Zack."

Zack opened his mouth but it was John that answered, "In the arm. He scared the hell out of all of us by jumping down from the guardhouse roof. Cloud got the first shot off."

Reno chuckled. This was totally making his day.

"Shut up. It's not like you haven't been shot before," Zack countered.

"Not by an infantryman, yo," Reno shot back with a smirk.

Zack removed his hand from Cloud's back. He placed it on the table with a loud smack, leaning into Cloud to look around the blond and glare at Reno. Reno found himself mimicking the motion.

"I believe the last bullet you took was from Elena."

"It was just in the foot."

"She still shot you!"

"Well, she's was bein' a bitch, yo."

"I think you were being the bitchy one!"

Reno didn't realize that he was pressing against Cloud, actually leaning into him as he was arguing with Zack. Cloud slapped and grabbing at both of their hands that were on the table. He squeezed rather hard. "What the hell, you guys?" Cloud said in a stern voice. Reno noticed that Zack was leaning into Cloud as well.

~ _Cloud sandwich~_

 _~yummy~_

The last thought made Reno blush as he pulled away from Cloud, ensuring that he kept his eyes focused on Zack. Zack leaned away from Cloud as well, and Reno noticed that there was a blush on Zack's cheeks too.

~ _Reno sandwich would be better~_

"Quit being jerks," Cloud said, letting go of Reno's hand and poking his arm in a sharp, quick motion. "Okay. Reno. Yeah, I shot him. Okay. I had tons of paperwork to do because of it, so you already know what happened. Quit being a dick about it."

Reno slumped at the chastisement from Cloud. He was about to say something about Zack taunting him when Cloud continued, poking his finger in the same manner into Zack's arm, causing the bigger man to wince. "And you - quit with the denial. It is no secret what happened, already. You don't need to be a dick too!" Cloud said. Zack hung his head like a scolded puppy and looked down at his food.

Reno hung his head as well; so much for this being a fun taunting session. He didn't much like the thought of Cloud being mad at him.

There was a click.

Reno looked up and saw that John had his PHS out, and seemed to have taken a picture. "What the hell did you do that for?" Cloud asked.

John shrugged and closed his phone. "Do you have any idea how funny it looks to have you – Cloud - putting the Lieutenant and one of the elite Turks into their place in the Mess Hall? Man, no one will believe me if I don't take a picture." He had a large grin on his face. Zack was giving the infantryman a glare. Cloud was shaking his head with a patient smile on his lips.

Reno reached over to grab the phone and make sure that picture…

~ _could use it as a wallpaper~_

…never saw the light of day.

* * *

Reno was trying to go for a smoke.

First Rude had interrupted his path to the courtyard, asking him if he knew that Legend was back. He told him that he knew, but hadn't seen him yet, due to the fact that he missed every morning meeting because of his forced boot camp sessions. He would find him later, but he really needed a smoke.

Then Sissy _had_ to tell him about the flowers. He just about told her that they were actually for him from Rufus, just to burst her bubble. He was so intent on getting for his smoke, that he didn't remember what he did to insult her, but it made her leave in a huff.

Rod wanted to borrow twenty gil.

Katana was looking for Elena.

It seemed that the world was going against him for having a smoke now. His nerves were starting to become a little thin when he started to walk in a determined fashion towards the elevator.

Reno wanted a smoke and that is all he was thinking about as he mashed the button on the elevator. He hoped that there would be no one else to stop his descent to the main floor, to have a smoke without any more pesky interruptions.

The door opened and he just about turned and ran.

~ _I'll open a window and maybe I should jump~_

But he stepped into the elevator…

~ _glutton for punishment~_

…and stood a far away from Sephiroth as possible. He tried not to even acknowledge him. He had made a decision to ignore the General; it didn't matter that he got him the smokes. Sephiroth was most likely just doing it to ease whatever type of guilt that he felt for destroying the last of his precious cigarettes. He didn't leave his name, so obviously he didn't want acknowledgement. Reno would gladly oblige him in that.

He looked out of the corner of his eye at the General who moved to open the notebook that he had in his hand and swept back some of his silver hair that had fallen over his shoulder.

~ _is that vanilla?~_

He took in a deep breath through his nose unconsciously. It was vanilla. He highly doubted the cleaning staff would step up their services by putting air fresheners in the elevators. Why would the elevator smell like…

He looked over to the General as he seemed engrossed in whatever was in the notebook.

"Is there a problem, Turk?" Sephiroth said in a low voice, his head bowed slightly to turn to look at him. Reno swallowed as those bright green eyes focused on him. The hair that he had just swept back over his shoulder fell forward again.

~ _you had to look at him, moron~_

"Nothin'," he said quickly and looked at the numbers of the floors.

~ _slowest elevator ever~_

Sephiroth grunted and turned his eyes back to the book. "I do not want to have any more problems with you."

Reno took another deep breath and regretted it; the smell was of vanilla but there was a hint of something more. He always thought that vanilla was a girly smell, but there was nothing girly about it, now.

~ _I wonder what it would be like to be able to touch that hair~_

Reno clenched his teeth against his betraying thoughts. He was not going to think about Sephiroth that way. He needed a smoke and didn't want to say it, knowing that the General would only berate him for the habit.

~ _even though he bought you a pack of Gongaga smokes~_

"Full of fuckin' contradictions, yo," he spoke under his breath. He had not meant to say it out loud.

He was not expecting Sephiroth to react to him. Sephiroth snapped his notebook shut that caused Reno to jump slightly. "You must work on your lamprophony." Sephiroth turned to him.

~ _lampro.._ _._ _wha? What the hell is that?~_

"Your muttering is quite annoying. If you have something to say, you must enunciate. You're sloppy in the way you speak," Sephiroth lectured.

"Don't have anythin' to say to ya," he said.

~ _just shut up already!~_

Sephiroth grunted and flicked at the hair that had fallen over his shoulder, as if he were annoyed by it. Reno refrained from trying to take another deep breath through his nose.

"Gonna pin me against the wall again?" Reno asked.

~ _I must have a death wish~_

Sephiroth didn't answer as the elevator stopped, the door opened and he left, leaving his scent behind.

* * *

He was now dying for a smoke.

~ _get his smell out of my nose~_

Nothing had happened in the elevator other than he was insulted by the General. Nothing, but the silver-haired man was forefront of his thoughts again.

~ _over a damn smell~_

He went into the inner courtyard. It was usually empty. After all, the area was just a bare square with potted plants trying to mimic a garden and a few benches. It wasn't that great of a place and he liked it because he could have a smoke in peace.

He had his cigarette lit even before he opened the door.

~ _that totally hits the spot~_

He let out a content sigh as he walked to the far corner of the pathetic little garden. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall; the long day catching up with him. This new schedule usually had him crawling into bed by seven. With all of today's distractions, he was not done with his paperwork yet and he knew he couldn't put that off, or else Tseng would be on him for that. He was looking forward to crawling into his bed after a shot of…

~ _Rufus gift~_

…alcohol and try not to think about anyone as he slept. The physical wear was allowing him to at least have a few solid hours of sleep but then his dreams would wake him up and with an ache that he couldn't touch.

~ _doesn't stop ya from trying~_

He frowned. He needed to get laid.

He heard a strange sound. He grabbed his EMR on reflex as he opened his eyes.

~ _oh, fuck a duck~_

A large black beast stood in front on him and growled. It took Reno a moment to realize what it was, but the long tentacle swishing back and forth of the pup told him who it belonged to. The beast's jaw was clenched and its lips curled up as it let out another low growl.

"Oh," a calm, cool voice said, "I didn't realize anyone else ever came out here."

~ _yeah, right~_

He looked up as Rufus snapped his fingers and Dark Nation turned its head to him. Its tense jaw loosened and it made a small whinning noise as it walked over to seemingly wrap itself around Rufus' white clad legs.

"Usually, no one does," Reno said, as he looked at the boss suspiciously.

~ _why? Why? Why does it_ _hafta_ _be him?~_

Rufus gave him a small smile as he patted the head of the monster. It made a pleased grumbling noise in response. Reno didn't like the thing. He was never one for pets. Dark Nation was one mean pet and proved occasionally to a few unfortunate victims how protective it was of its owner. Rufus had got the monster as a pup about a year ago, a gift from some dignitary, if the stories were true.

He noticed that Rufus had a ball in his hand.

~ _wha?~_

"Gonna play a little fetch with darko?" he asked.

"He needs his exercise," Rufus said and tossed the yellow ball in his hand. Dark Nation's eyes followed it. Rufus' eyes were not looking at his pet though. They were looking at him.

Reno calculated - Door, beast, Rufus, escape. The answer was…screwed.

~ _if only~_

He ran his hand over his face. Rufus gave him an amused look. He stood there with a slightly crooked stance and looked at him in a casual, but calculating manner.

"Did you get my apology?" Rufus asked in a-way-too-smooth voice.

"Yeah."

"I hoped it was to your liking," Rufus said as he idly threw the ball across the yard and Dark Nation took off after it.

Reno raised and eyebrow. Boss _was_ playing fetch with his monster.

~ _weird~_

"Tseng proved to be more proficient than I calculated," Rufus said and took a couple of steps closer. Reno took a step to the side, not only because of Rufus, but the fact that Dark Nation was barrelling back and didn't seem to have any qualms about turning sharply and nearly whipping him with the tentacle, as it dropped the yellow ball in front of its master.

Rufus bent and picked up the ball and repeated the motion of throwing it. Rufus followed the motions of his pet.

Reno saw him smile; a real smile. Rufus looked…young. It was easy to forget that Rufus was actually younger than him, if only by a couple of years. When the man radiates power…

~sexuality~

…and control, it was easy to forget that he was human. Here was the Little Big Boss, playing fetch with his overprotective monster and actually smiling as he was doing it. It did not look forced, like the ones he wore at meetings or the one seen in all his pictures.

The monstrous dog-like thing was making the boss smile.

Reno gathered his thoughts back up. He noticed that half his smoke was ash now. He flicked it off and took a deep drag, discarding the last of it and stomping it out. "Gotta get back to work," he said lowly and tried to walk past Rufus.

Dark Nation had the yellow ball in its mouth as it pushed its head under Rufus' hand. It let out a growl and those beady eyes glared right at him. That tentacle was whipping back and forth in a violent fashion.

"Must you? It's late already in the day," Rufus said, patting the mutt's head and taking the ball from its mouth. He rotated it in his hand before he tossed it again. "I am not against company."

~ _neither am I, but I am not going to get caught with my pants down again~_

"Gotta go," he said simply. He wanted to go be in misery by himself again. It was safer than starting to think that maybe Rufus wasn't such a prick after all.

~ _at least not in everything~_

Reno took a few steps to the side. Dark Nation had returned and was growling at him around the ball in its substantial jaw. Reno froze. Those beady eyes were boring right into him.

~ _looks like he wants a snack~_

Rufus chuckled lightly and took the ball out of the beast's mouth. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

~yeah, right~

"Come sit with me," Rufus said, waving his hand toward a bench.

"But I…" Reno started but couldn't finish. Rufus took that ball out of Dark Nation's mouth and started to move to the bench.

"We can have a civil conversation out here," he said.

~ _yeah, right, just like in Tseng's office~_

He swallowed hard and tried to suppress the shiver that ran through his body. He looked around and recalculated his chance of escape and saw that it was small. He was pretty sure Rufus would sic his monster on him to bring him down if he refused to have a chat with him.

~ _maybe all he wants to do is talk~_

Reno highly doubted that.

Rufus seated himself on the stone bench and patted the spot beside him. "Come now," Rufus said as he threw the ball for Dark Nation who gladly bounded after it. "This area is monitored. I won't try anything disturbing."

~ _depends on what your definition of 'disturbing'_ _is~_

But he found himself slowly walking towards the bench where the Brat Boss was sitting, and made sure that was a respectable distance between them.

Rufus was focusing on Dark Nation as it bounded back and promptly put its taloned claws in the space between them.

~ _I think I like the beast now~_

Rufus laughed as he took the ball from the creature's mouth. "She doesn't like other people paying attention to me. She is very particular of who she allows to get close." Rufus stroked the black ears and the thing whimpered and moved into a position so that he was able to rest its large head in his lap. Rufus kept scratching behind the ears as he placed the ball to the side. "She hasn't bitten you yet, so that is a good sign."

"She?" Reno said trying not to think about those big teeth sinking into him. He had seen other people with bite marks from Dark Nation.

"Yes," Rufus said and moved his hand to her tentacle that sprouted from her shoulders. "Did you know that she was the runt of the litter? Poor thing was going to be disposed of because she only had one tentacle."

~ _whatever~_

"That would have been a shame," Reno said. Dark Nation turned its head towards him and there was loathing in those eyes. She was not fooled by his complements.

"She has been giving me company for those six months that father banished me to Mideel. It has been rather trying," Rufus said. "She had more room to play there, though. This little concrete garden hardly does her good."

"Why didn't ya leave her there?" The creature was huge, girl or not, and looked like something that could have only escaped from Hojo's labs.

Rufus caressed the things head. It whined louder and nuzzled into Rufus' belly. "Oh, I couldn't leave her there. No one else could take care of her like she deserves." Rufus was happy with the beast's head in his lap. "This is one of the few places that I can take my little girl to let her run."

~ _little girl?~_

"Why don't ya take her to Kalm? It's not far away and I'm sure Daddy wouldn't mind ya gettin' out of his hair for awhile, yo," Reno said. That tentacle of hers sure was intimidating. The thick lean muscle twitched and whipped at him.

"I would need an escort," Rufus said and tilted his head in a curious way. "Are you volunteering to be my escort?" He leaned slightly and his hand that had been stroking the head of the Dark Nation reached and stroked his arm.

Dark Nation growled.

Reno coughed.

~ _did I walk into another trap?~_

"What do you think of that, girl?" Rufus said moving his hand to lift the large jaw of the beast to look at him. "A trip to Kalm to run around in those fields? How about Reno escorting us? Hm?"

Reno tried to get his thoughts out of his mouth, but just made some rather pathetic stammers.

 _~once again, he got me tongue-tied~_

Dark Nation gave a grumbling growl that did not sound like she liked the thought of it at all. Reno didn't like the idea, that was for sure.

"Sir!" he managed to finally spit out.

Rufus smiled at him. "I will talk to Tseng about arranging you to fly me out for a weekend trip."

"B-but," he said. Reno's heart was racing at the thought of being alone with him.

~ _scared or excited~_

Rufus gave a sexy…

~ _scary~_

…chuckle as he pushed Dark Nation's head from his lap. The beast gave a protesting growl. "I am sure that I can convince him to let you have a break from your rather harsh regiment right now."

"I-I," he started to protest, but Rufus moved quickly, sliding over so that their thighs pressed together. A strong gloved hand reached out and grabbed his arm firmly, while the other hand held his chin.

"Speechless again," Rufus whispered as he leaned in so that their lips brushed together. Reno felt his face flush and his body lean into the kiss, deepening it. Rufus allowed it for a moment before he pulled back and said, "At least that tongue knows how to move when it counts."

"Ya know it, Boss," Reno said and found himself grinning despite how his stomach was twisting into knots. He wanted to kiss again.

A low growling sound made him look to the side. Dark Nation was growling and looking rather pissed off, the tentacle whipping around its back look like it wanted to take him out.

"Easy, Nation," Rufus said in a soothing voice.

~ _the same tone he uses on you~_

The growl turn into a roar and those eyes were telling him that if Rufus wasn't there, he would be a snack.

"Don't think she likes me, yo," Reno said.

"She will get used to you," Rufus said as he leaned away from him and scratched behind the flattened ears of the beast. The tension left the muscles in its shoulders, and the tentacle slowed its wild, whipping motions. "She does worry about me."

~ _whatever~_

Rufus grabbed the ball that was lying neglected beside him and waved it front of the beast. All the tension left the beast and it turned into a playful puppy again. Rufus laughed softly as he stood and threw the ball. Dark Nation ran after it.

"You will have to excuse her behaviour," Rufus said, watching her run back to him with the yellow ball in her mouth. "She really does need the exercise more often than I have the liberty to."

"This area is always available," Reno said. He wanted another smoke. He wanted to leave, but he didn't dare stand yet. He had to let his hardness soften a little before he moved. He didn't want to show Brat Boss how excited he was getting over those two little kisses.

"I see," Rufus said. "I will remember that." Rufus retrieved the ball from his pet's mouth and scratched under its chin.

Reno doubted that he didn't know that. Rufus was no fool. Reno was about to comment about how he had to go back to work when that tentacle reached him and hit him in the side rather sharply. He gasped.

~ _better than a bite~_

"Nation!" Rufus' tone was sharp. The beast lowered its head, as if in shame, but those eyes narrowing at him told Reno something completely different.

"Ya enjoy your playin'," Reno said and stood, trying to skirt the monster. "Gotta go."

"I suppose," Rufus said and turned to him. Was there a disappointed look on his face? "I was hoping to see the rest of those marking that are on your back."

Reno sputtered and searched for words again.

~ _how does he do this to me?~_

Reno was pretty sure that he was doing it on purpose because he had that soft smile on his face as he looked over his shoulder at him.

"I hope the next time that we meet, we will be able to finish where we had left off," Rufus hummed as he turned his back on his pet and stood in front of him. Reno didn't have time or the brain power to react as Rufus boldly placed one hand on his hip and another on his shoulder and leaned in. There was nothing soft or gentle about the kiss. Reno gave a small grunt as Rufus' demanding tongue entered his mouth. Reno could only go along with the kiss and stroke the warm flesh with his own.

Reno wrapped his arms around the lean waist of his boss and pulled him closer. Rufus gripped his shoulder tighter and steeped up the intensity of his kiss.

 _~want more~_

He knew that the boss was enjoying himself, by the hardness pressing against his own hardened organ. He rubbed himself – shamelessly - against his boss and let himself be consumed with the deep kiss. He tightened his grip around his waist and caused Rufus to moan and twist against him.

~ _frottage has never felt so good~_

Reno was almost lost in the attention. Being allowed to touch was wonderful and the boss touching him was divine. One of the boss's hands moved to thread through his hair and tugged at it gently.

~ _feels so good~_

He pushed himself against the boss, harsher than he planned. It caused Rufus to break the kiss and give out a startled yelp.

That is when he felt a sharp pain in his arm that he had wrapped around Rufus. It took him a few seconds to realize what it was, and before he could react, Dark Nation pulled him away from Rufus with a powerful tug. He felt himself being thrown to the ground and a giant paw press painfully against his chest and a tooth-filled face growled in his.

Reno gapped at the monster.

"Nation!" It was Rufus sharp, commanding voice. "Get off of him!"

Dark Nation turned its head to look up at its Master and growled.

~ _fuck, I'm gonna be a snack~_

"Now," Rufus demanded, and the beast lifted its paw and slunk beside the boss who gave the big beast a swat on its head. "Sit!"

It obeyed.

Reno scrambled to his feet and examined the arm that was in the monster's mouth and started to back away. "Show me your arm," Rufus ordered.

"It's fine, Boss. She didn't break any skin," Reno said, not liking how shaky his voice was. He didn't stop backing away, realizing that he, one again, was suckered into a make-out session with him in, yet another inappropriate setting. His boner had been scared out of him by the sudden attack, but he could tell by the flush on his boss's face that he was still feeling the after effects of the brief…

~ _much to brief~_

…frottage session.

"She thought you were hurting me," Rufus said as he took a step forward. Reno took a step back. His arm did hurt and was pretty sure that there would be some bruising there. Dark Nation had not been gentle with him.

"Whatever," Reno mumbled. "Gotta go, Boss."

~ _things are so messed up~_

Rufus sighed and gave a disarming smile that just about made him want to stay there for a little while longer. A quick look at Dark Nation changed his mind. He didn't want to give that monster another chance to gnaw on him. "Then I will see you later," he said. "I believe that I need to tire out Nation. She is a little too high-strung."

"No shit," Reno muttered as he backed away. He was scared to take his eyes off the creature. Dark Nation seemed quite content now with the fact that he was leaving. Reno's only thoughts were of ditching the report that he was being forced to write and going back to take care of the ache that was developing from that short make-out session.

~ _getting chewed out by Mr. Frost and chewed on by the bratty Boss's toy monster. I need a drink~_

He escaped.

The calmness that he finally gathered in the last couple of days ruined by everyone - Spike-Brains with just being damn sexy, Mr. Frost and his vanilla hair care products, and Brat Boss with his smooth tongue and almost human side.

~ _I wonder if he will send me more flowers and vodka to apologize?~_

Reno sighed and stopped on his way to his office.

"Screw it. I'm going home," he muttered and turned on his heel to leave to the safety of his apartment. He wanted a drink. He wanted a shower. He wanted to curl up in his bed and try to push out the thoughts of all that happened during the day.

So what if he had a stupid report to write? It was just a cut and paste and change the date type of report. After all, Tseng couldn't give him any more punishments to make his life any more miserable than it already was.

* * *

 **Lamprophony** : yeah, it's a real word, it means: Loudness and clarity of voice. We all know that Reno has a problem with this…. I believe that Sephiroth learned this word from Genesis…

 **Fuck a duck** : Instead of saying, _Oh Shit_ , when things go very wrong… also with the way everything is going for Reno, he needs some more colorful curses.

 **About the Vanilla** … If you played Crisis Core and became a member of the Silver Elite, one of the factoids that were presented was about the smell of the Generals hair… I had to throw it in. I laughed when I read that… I mean, how does a fangirl not react to such a thing? And Vanilla is so yummy…(I refer to the flavor here.. gah, you people have dirty minds!)

And don't forget about my Poll…  
And ZiggyPasta has a Forum, you can access it through her homepage, for all those that have been corrupted by Yaoi and why you are enjoy it... put in your two cents, if you are so inclined.  
Thanks in your review in advance… in the lead is PUPPY… (kinda thought it would)  
Soy-Soy


	30. Chocobo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning:  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Authors Note** :  
I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

Well, it is all about the big yellow birds right now…  
Cuteness.  
This chapter solidifying the Zack and Cloud relationship a little further…enjoy.

 **Disclaimer:  
** Don't own, just using for my own amusement

* * *

 **CHOCOBO**

* * *

Zack was thrilled that Cloud was going on the mission with him. He just had to figure out how he could get some private time with Cloud with the twenty men that had been sent on the mission as well.

Of course, that was before the mission started to go sideways.

They got to the village and took care of the monsters. That part went well. The monsters were not that strong and they hardly needed his skills to deal with them. He let the troops take care of most of them and ensured that everything was properly cleaned up. They were the heroes of the day. There were only a few minor injuries –mostly muscle strains and a few scratches - among the troops, and he had been proud when it was Cloud that stepped up to take care of the injured.

~ _silly to be proud~_

But he was. Cloud was quick and efficient in ensuring the potions were given out, and that the wounds were properly cleaned before any materia was used. ~ _almost could imagine him in a nurse outfit~_

Cloud even did some massage thing with the injured troops. The guys seemed to take it in stride, like it was nothing unusual. He didn't like how Cloud touched a trooper that had a headache by massaging behind the trooper's temples before he passed out. And yet with another, Cloud pressed his hands into his shoulder and caused a moan.

~ _didn't like it, but it seemed to be helping the troops~_

He had been dragged away by town officials before he could ask Cloud why he was touching the other men like that. The village thanked them, and they had rested there. He was forced to talk late into the night with the mayor of the town, while Cloud bunked with the other men in the town's hall.

~ _not even a good night kiss~_

Zack did get his kiss in the morning. He was cornered by the blond before they went for breakfast. Zack was pleasantly surprised to be pushed into a doorway and have a warm mouth attach to his.

Cloud laughed at him as Zack tried to push him away, but at the same time was kissing him back. "We'll get caught," Zack had protested, but not all that strongly.

"Just a little more," Cloud whispered into his lips and took them again. Zack had been shocked when Cloud palmed his crotch. Zack was so taken aback by the hand squeezing his _package_ that he gasped, and before he could retaliate...

~ _have to remember that he is not as shy as he acts~_

…Cloud slipped out of his grasp and joined the other men for the morning meal.

~ _damn tease~_

He noticed that Cloud ate light. He didn't forget that he sometimes got motion sickness and ensured that he took an anti-nausea pill before they boarded the two trucks. Cloud had been a bit green when they had disembarked from the truck and Zack didn't want him to get queasy on the way back.

They boarded and went on their way. Zack sat beside the driver and was able to look back and see Cloud talking with that pesky Joseph. He had to admit the blue-haired man was a proficient fighter… when he wasn't being an idiot.

That was when the truck broke down.

Zack had stared at the steaming engine. He knew nothing – absolutely nothing - about mechanics. He just used the stuff; he didn't know how to fix it. ShinRa equipment wasn't supposed to break down.

~ _normally they made such good stuff~_

"Anyone know how to fix an engine?" he asked the group of men.

Cloud shrugged and came forward. "I can take a look."

He smirked and stood back. "Have at 'er."

While Cloud worked on the truck, he admired the view and tried not to be so obvious about it.

~ _very nice_ _ass,_ _and it's mine~_

The troop's Captain, Dean, leaned next to Cloud as they fiddled with the engine, and they conversed for awhile. Dean brought a tool kit and they tinkered on the engine.

"You sure?" Zack heard Dean say after awhile. Zack had stopped the squat competition that he was having with the other infantrymen.

"Yep," Cloud said as he stood up and turned around. "The seal broke on the water pump. I can fix it. Get me the first-aid kit and I'll make it right as rain."

Joseph laughed. "First-aid kit?" Some of the others laughed as well.

How could a first-aid kit help fix the truck? Had Cloud been huffing too many engine fumes? It was a truck, but being in his First Class SOLDIER mode, he had to be a little more serious, even though he did want to ask the same question as Joseph did.

Cloud sighed, and in a perturbed tone of voice, "Just get it. It's so we can get back, okay?" Cloud turned and leaned over the engine again. "I need to take this apart, and I will replace the seal temporarily using some of the rubber of the tourniquet. It won't hold for long, but it should be enough to get us back to Midgar. We will also need to put some water in the coolant chamber. We'll have to stop every half-hour to ensure that it's filled. Water is not as efficient as coolant and we may still overheat the engine. We are lucky that it's fall, or this would be a much more difficult task."

"Wow," Zack found himself saying, "you're a grease monkey."

Cloud turned and gave him a small smile. "It'll take me awhile to fix the seal. Maybe an hour."

Zack nodded. He ordered the other truck to take the troops that were hurt the most back, while the more able bodied men remained behind. Unfortunately Joseph was not sick enough…

~ _at least in_ _the_ _body~_

 _…_ to go with the first truck.

Zack watched in fascination as Cloud worked on fixing the water pump seal. Dean helped him, mostly by yelling and pushing Joseph around. Cloud also didn't seem to have a problem yelling at the pesky blue-haired man to screw off as he did whatever he did to get the truck fixed.

It took Cloud only thirty minutes to fix the engine and get the truck moving again. Zack had never felt so much pride, and was kind of disappointed that he couldn't share it with anyone.

* * *

Cloud's fix was holding, but the truck was guzzling the water. They would watch the temperature gauge to determine where they should stop. They were going to get back late, if this kept up. Cloud had been right - it was almost every hour that they stopped and had to fill the truck up with water.

There were eight infantrymen in the back of the truck. Dean was driving and Zack was sitting beside him. He longed to be in the back of the truck, even if Cloud was looking a little green. Everyone else was laughing and having inappropriate conversation about the girls at the Honeybee Inn, and the trouble they got into the last weekend. Cloud just smiled and tried to keep his rations down.

One of the troopers complained that his head was hurting, and he moved to sit by Cloud. Zack frowned as he watched Cloud massage the temples of the trooper. He noted that this was the same man that he had done it to back in the town. He _did not_ like the groan the guy gave at Cloud's touch.

He narrowed his eyes.

Dean snorted as he looked back in the rear view mirror. "Cloud's at it again, huh?"

~ _at it again?~_

"In what regards?" Zack said formally. He couldn't ask, 'feeling up the other members of his troop?'

"With that voodoo touching stuff he does," Dean said, and focused on the road. "Kinda weird, but it does seem to work."

~ _voodoo touching stuff?~_

"Pardon?"

"Yeah," Dean said. "For some reason, he does this thing where he uses pressure points to help with aches and pains. Never had the kid touch me, though. Too weird for my liking. Other guys like it, though. They all want Cloud in their troop because of it."

"I was not aware of that," he said and looked back. The guy that Cloud was rubbing behind his ears now had his jaw slack and his eyes closed. No one else even blinked at what Cloud was doing.

Dean snorted. "Most guys go to him when they want to get rid of a headache."

Cloud stopped the motions on the infantryman and leaned back in the truck, looking a little nauseous as he did so. The man patted Cloud on the leg and returned to his seat and allowed Joseph to sit beside Cloud again.

Zack felt that jealous pang in his gut. _His_ Cloud was touching another man. It wasn't sexual, but it could be, and he didn't like that.

~ _he had other experiences before you~_

He couldn't begrudge Cloud with that. It wasn't like he didn't have experience before, as well. He knew it was irrational to be jealous about things in the past. He had no right to feel that way, but Zack couldn't help but wonder if the guy that Cloud had been rubbing had been one of his past experiences. He knew that he didn't even have the right to ask that, but now it was bothering him.

~ _why hasn't he tried that stuff on me?~_

Cloud looked up and smiled weakly at him. Zack returned the smile and felt a little sorry for him and his motion sickness. When they stopped next, they would have to ensure that he took another anti-nausea pill.

"Shit!"

The truck stopped abruptly, throwing him rudely against the dash. He turned around quickly to see a group of large yellow birds run around the truck. Panicked sounding 'warks' could be heard. One of the birds bounded up and smashed its foot into the hood of the truck and bounded after the others. Zack looked over from where the birds were running from.

It was his turn to swear. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath. In the field a large lumbering Grand Horn was throwing its head around. One of its horns was covered in blood, and a body of a chocobo lay under its feet.

"What do we do, sir?" Dean asked.

Zack didn't respond. He darted out of the truck. He really hated Grand Horns. Damn things had thick skin and were hard to take down. This one looked completely pissed off, so he knew that shooing it away was not an option. He pulled out his sword and with a heavy sigh, started to fight the pesky thing.

~ _really hate Horns~_

An hour later, he finally finished off the monster. He was tired from all the bouncing and twisting he had to do, to avoid getting gored by its horns. The infantrymen had all been watching as the monster finally collapsed in a heap.

~ _how does Sephiroth take the things down with one swipe?~_

The men cheered him and he smiled, twirling his sword in his grand finishing move before holstering it on his back. "Finally got 'em," he decreed.

That was when he noticed that there were two other men standing beside Captain Dean. They looked like brothers, both with dark red hair and similar builds. One of them was sitting on a blue chocobo and the other was holding its reins. They were also dressed in simple clothes, of well worn jeans and thin t-shirts.

He gave a little nod to the infantrymen and saw that Cloud was grinning widely at him. He wished he could go over and kiss Cloud.

~ _nothing like a good fuck after a well fought battle~_

He shook the thought out of his head as duty called, and he walked over to the two men.

"Thanks, ya," the one on the chocobo said. "That there monster's been terrorizing my birdies, ya."

Zack just about laughed at the atrociously thick accent, but was able to keep the threatening smirk from appearing on his face. He could barely make out what he was saying. "Not a problem, sir," Zack said.

Dean introduced the two. The one on the bird was named Flint, and the one holding the reins was named Flare. They were indeed brothers, and the monster had been terrorizing the two chocobo ranchers' birds for the past month or so.

"Been losing birdies lately, ya," Flare said. His accent was almost thicker than of his brother's. "Lost 'er 'ood, ya"

~ _what?~_

"We's know that it not yours job, sir, an all, ya. Can I ast ya ta help us round up them there chicks, ya," Flint asked, and Zack had to think about what he said to get the gist of his heavily accented words.

"You want us to help you round up your chocobos?" he asked.

"If yer think it won't be much trouble, ya," Flare said.

Zack smiled and announced that of course they would. They were already three hours late returning to Midgar, and with the truck being in even worse shape now, from the look of it, what was an hour chasing some birds?

It turned out to be more like three hours.

There was supposed to be twenty-five chocobos and three chicks. A hell of a lot of birds to round up, especially since they were fast.

Flint had explained that they were bred for racing so they all had a good set of legs on them, but their temperament was a bit on the difficult side. He provided greens to try to get them to calm down enough to 'wrangle' them up. Flint raced them around on his blue bird, and much to everyone's surprise, Joseph took up riding one of the caught birds.

Cloud had laughed at him. "Never knew you were a bird brain," he taunted.

"One of the best," Joseph said, not even flinching at the insult. "Dad raced for awhile. Best warker* a couple of years back. I trained for a bit, too."

"Did you say warker or wanker?" Cloud chuckled.

"I do both well." Joseph preened as they both laughed.

"You should be on the blue one, so at least it matches your hair," Cloud teased as he tossed up a bag of greens to Joseph.

"You want this one then?" Joseph said as he strapped the bag around his shoulders.

"Why would I want it?"

"I believe that it matches your hair - crest and all," Joseph snickered.

Cloud's face went red. One of the other men came up behind Cloud and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, make sure that one of them doesn't mistake you for one of their chicks."

"Whatever," Cloud responded, trying to smooth out his hair.

"Better watch out or one of those big males might take you for one of the girly ones."

"Do you think I could ride you?"

"Soft enough to be feathers."

"Don't get put in the stable."

"Too small to mount."

"I'll be your warker!"

The men around him teased and laughed.

Zack bit his tongue and fought the temptation to join the light-hearted taunting. Cloud's shoulders straightened as he glared at the guys around him who were teasing him and tousling his hair.

"Just go chase the birds!" Cloud protested. "Leave my hair alone!"

Zack had the strong urge to go over and ruffle that yellow hair, but Cloud looked flustered as he finished handing out the greens that he had been given to distribute. Zack chuckled and started to help the infantrymen round up the birds. Zack didn't think that it would be difficult to hunt down the chocobos.

Three hours later, and they still had to hunt down two more of the birds and one of the chicks. Joseph and Cloud were expertly riding around on chocobos, as well as one of the other men who was travelling with Flint. The rest of the men were at the barn getting the stable set up for them to rest and prepare an evening meal, since it looked like they were stuck there for the night.

The birds had done quite a bit of damage to the truck and they had to call to get another transport, but it wouldn't be available until the morning.

Zack waved and called out to Cloud. Cloud moved his bird towards him while Joseph rode his over to where Dean was standing.

"I didn't know you could ride," Zack said as Cloud dismounted. Cloud shrugged as he struggled with a bundle in his arms.

"You don't grow up in the mountains without learning a few tricks. It's a little easier since these ones are pretty tame, just spooked. These guys would have come home when they got hungry. They know where the easy food is," Cloud said as the bundle in his arms, 'kweh'ed. It seemed that Cloud found the last chick.

"What's that you got there?" Zack said and poked at the feathery ball. It gave an annoyed 'wark' and a sharp beak nipped at his fingers. The bird seemed to give Zack an angry look before rubbing its head against Cloud's chest with a 'kweh'.

"Aw," Zack said, "it thinks you're its mommy."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "I get enough of that from the guys. I don't need to hear it from you, too."

The little green ball of feathers made appreciative 'kewh'ing noises as Cloud scratched its beak.

Zack grabbed the reins of the large yellow chocobo and they started to walk to the farm's pen gate.

"The way you fought that Grand Horn was amazing. It was almost like you were dancing," Cloud said.

"I hate those damn Horns," Zack said, feeling slightly embarrassed at how Cloud was looking at him. It was one thing to have the admiration of the troops, but for Cloud to look at him with that awe was a little strange. It made a pleasant warmth spread through his chest that he never encountered before. It made him want to blush and puff out his chest. It was a nice feeling, but scary at the same time.

"Those Horns sure seem to have tough skin," Cloud said.

"Like stone," Zack said. "Hope you never have to fight one of them."

"Neither do I," Cloud said as he jostled the bird in his arms. "Don't you have a Costly Punch? Isn't that what works best on them?"

"Well, yeah," Zack said and let out a heavy sigh. "I don't have enough gil to buy it."

Cloud chuckled. "I heard that not even Sephiroth uses it."

"He doesn't need it."

"Really? Have you seen him take down a Grand Horn before?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah," Zack said and looked back at his boyfriend. "It's quite a sight seeing him fight."

Cloud gave a small smile and a low hum as a response. Cloud's blue eyes glazed over a little bit. "I bet," he said in a dreamy voice.

~ _was he thinking of Sephiroth?~_

The bundle of feathers in his arms made another distressed noise and the glazed look was replaced with a small worried frown.

Zack was tempted to start teasing him about his crush on the General, but decided against it. It was nearly disastrous the last time he teased Cloud about what Zack suspected was a little bit more than just a crush. He knew that half of the troop would get that glazed look on their face when they thought about Sephiroth.

Zack smiled at his young friend, resisting the urge to ruffle the wild yellow hair. "You did well today too, Cloud," Zack said and looked at Cloud to see him blush slightly.

~ _damn, he's so cute with that chocobo in his arms~_

Zack was not watching where he was going and stumbled on a root, and nearly fell. Cloud rolled his eyes at him. "Quit ogling me and watch where you're going."

"I'm not ogling," Zack said.

Cloud grunted with a crooked smile as he stroked the head of the small bird.

"Where did you learn to do all that stuff?" Zack asked.

"Huh? What stuff?" Cloud said as he stopped walking. He arranged the chick in his arms, causing it to 'wark' in a pained tone. The larger bird turned its head to the distressed chick.

"You know," Zack said, "fixing the truck, and all that voodoo touching stuff."

Cloud snorted and in a tight tone said, "You've been talking to Dean." Cloud pushed the larger bird away and then went to place the chick on the chocobo's back.

"Yeah. A bit," Zack said and rubbed the back of his head.

"Mom didn't have too much money and when things broke, we fixed them," he said. "And the 'voodoo' touching thing - it helps the guys," Cloud said with anxiety in his voice. "It is not voodoo."

The large chocobo gave out a loud complaint and swiped at Zack with its beak, obviously reacting to Cloud's emotional outburst.

Zack chuckled. "I think she has adopted you." He had to take a step back to avoid the bird's sharp beak as it twisted its neck in a protective fashion to separate them.

"Whatever," Cloud said angrily and pushed against the bird's neck. Cloud grabbed the reins from Zack, giving them a hard tug. Cloud's blue eyes narrowed at him and he set his jaw.

"Come on. I'm just teasing," Zack said quickly.

"We should get these two back, and I'm hungry," Cloud said and started walking. Zack fell into step beside him.

"Of course," Zack said.

He didn't want to upset Cloud further, but he did have another burning question in mind before they joined the rest of them in the barn. "I do have something to ask before we head up," Zack said a little nervously.

Cloud looked at him with a stern look. "What is it, sir?"

Zack inwardly winced as he was called 'sir'.

~ _here goes nothing~_

He slowed his walking so that he was right beside Cloud, and leaned a little closer to him, not wanting to risk anyone over-hearing him. "About that touching thing you do - do you use it on the guys all the time?"

"Yeah," Cloud said. "You aren't going to get all jealous?"

~ _a little~_

"No," Zack said. "I just haven't seen you do that before."

Cloud shrugged and ensured that the green ball of feathers was still secure on the back of the larger yellow one. "I used it once on one of the guys who had pulled his shoulder out because the medics weren't around. I helped relieve his pain until the proper medics could tend to him."

"So, you use it quite a bit then?" he asked. He didn't like the idea of Cloud always touching all these other men.

"Yeah," Cloud sighed. "I usually end up helping the medics now because of it, as you saw."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Zack said. "They seem to respect you for that."

Cloud shrugged, "It can be a little annoying. I mean, I want to be able to fight and to get stronger. Pretty hard to do that from the medical tent."

"I wouldn't worry about that. You fought well today. You'll make SOLDIER, and then you won't be delegated to the medical tent," Zack said and patted Cloud on his shoulder.

Cloud smiled at him, but Zack could tell there was a little bit of doubt in it. He didn't know how to comfort Cloud in this. He had always been the top of his class when it came to the fighting, whereas he had a little bit of difficulty with the books. Cloud was opposite of him in that regard, but it didn't mean that he wouldn't make a good SOLDIER. Zack was positive that Cloud would make an opposing force on the battlefield.

~ _if he would just stop brooding~_

They were getting closer to the barn. He didn't have much time to ask the other most important question about the massaging. "The touching thing? Why haven't you used it on me?"

Cloud stopped and looked at him like he said something strange. "What do you mean? I used it on you."

"You did?" Zack was pretty sure he would remember Cloud massaging him like he was doing the others.

"Yeah. When we were returning from Modeoheim, when I was holding your hand." Cloud grabbed his hand and held it. Zack watched as Cloud fingers massaged between his thumb and fingers in a firm but gentle motion. "Remember this?"

Zack remembered. It had calmed him so much that he didn't break down in front of the other men. He didn't think anyone else saw, but maybe it was because they were used to Cloud doing stuff like that. They may not have thought it odd that they were sitting so close because of what he had done for others in the past.

"I remember," he said, "but that is not what I am referring to."

Cloud furrowed his brow in confusion. Zack looked at him and waggled his eyebrows and let his smirk do the talking.

"What? I –oh," Cloud said. His eyes grew wide and he covered his mouth in shock. "Oh." His pale cheeks turned bright red as he covered his eyes and groaned. "I-I never thought of using it that way!" Cloud exclaimed and ran his hands nervously through his hair.

Zack chuckled. He felt a little better knowing that Cloud hadn't thought of his touching in any sexual way.

~ _even though others might have~_

He watched Cloud's face change from brilliant embarrassment, to dark worry, and then melt into a look that he enjoyed seeing on his boyfriend - sexy teasing. "I guess we will have to try that out," Cloud said in a husky whisper before starting to walk again.

Zack grinned, adjusting himself slightly as he started walking, thinking of the new possibilities rolling around in his head. The chocobo warked angrily as they started to walk again. It seemed to be making sure that he was separated from Cloud.

"Hey!" It was Joseph that came running over. "You two, quit lollygagging! Let's get that chick back to its mother."

Cloud nodded and trotted forward, giving Zack a nice view of his bottom as he did so. He forced his eyes away as he walked forward to talk to Dean and the chocobo ranchers.

Being a First Class SOLDIER meant that he was the one in charge, which meant that he had to be courteous to his hosts. He listened to Flint and Flare, with their heavy accents, thank him for helping. He watched as the other men rested in the hay and ate some of the warmed rations and drank some coffee that must have been provided by the ranchers. He wanted to be in with them, not having to worry about image and protocol.

~ _now I understand what Sephiroth goes through~_

Flint and Flare offered him a room in the house for him to sleep in, but Zack declined. Not that Zack was looking forward to the night in the barn. Nor did he have a problem with roughing it, or that they would have to sleep with blankets over top of hay. It was because he knew there would be no way to sneak off and get Cloud to try using those hands in a new way tonight.

~ _teasing backfired on you again~_

At least he would be with the men, even if he couldn't have some alone time with Cloud. He did join the ranchers for a drink, to be polite, before he returned to the barn to retire for the evening. Dean and Joseph were first guard, and the plan for watch rotation was already set when he inquired. He checked on the others and saw they were already sleeping peacefully, with a few snoring loudly.

He was tempted to join Cloud who was alone in his stable, but knew very well that he would crawl all over him, and that would not look good in the morning. He could see that there was another set of bedding in the stall. Most likely that pesky Joseph would be bunking with him once his night shift was done.

He gave out a heavy sigh and went to the stable that was assigned to him. He never thought it could be so hard knowing that Cloud was just sleeping one stall over.

* * *

Zack woke with the last shift change. He ordered the two men back to their stalls, so that they could get more sleep before the morning transport would come. He grabbed some of the coffee which was thick and extremely bitter, but at least warm, as he walked down the array of chocobo stalls.

He took a sip of the warm drink as he looked in to check on Cloud. He swallowed incorrectly and tried to stifle the coughing fit, so that he didn't wake anyone.

~ _cutest thing ever~_

Cloud was sprawled out in the stable, flat on his back and oblivious to the world. The green chick and a yellow chick lay curled on his belly; one of Cloud's hands was resting on the green feather ball's back.

Zack pulled out his PHS to take a picture. He knew that he could never show it to anyone, not even Cloud, for Cloud surely would delete it and get mad at him for taking the picture.

He typed in the picture name: 'My Chocobo'.

* * *

 **Author's End Ramble** :

The Grand Horn is the type from Crisis Core not the FFVII version. Just to clarify. Damn bitchy things to fight, if you played the game. Hate the Horns! Anyhoo… The Grand Horn is extremely resistant to all physical and magical attacks… it damages, but it takes like hours (at least that how it feels) to defeat the beast if you don't have Costly Punch or Dispel Blade. And Zack just can't afford Costly punch… he doesn't have enough money for that, after all he is in SOLDIER and they don't get paid all that well.

And well, Zack really doesn't like Grand Horns, they did cause him a lot of problems in the past…

 _Shooing:_ to drive away abruptly, by or as by crying "shoo", or in Zack's case, swatting it with an oversized sword….

* _Warker_ : I decided to make up the word… Jockey, just doesn't sound right for riding birds and I know that it is weird but… well, I made up a word for what the Chocobo riders are….and its funny too….

Well there we have it.

Please let me know what you like. Review or comment.


	31. Vodka

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Authors Note**  
I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

Reno!

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

Vodka

* * *

~ _such a nice ass~_

Reno had his phone out as he observed Zack giving his 'You Want to be a SOLDIER' speech.

Zack walked up and down the line of new recruits in, what looked like, a freshly pressed uniform. His spiky hair was teased perfectly so that it framed the handle of Angeal's sword that was hanging on his back. His voice was loud and strong as he strutted up and down the line.

~ _and quite a strut he has~_

Reno had licked his lips a few times as Zack turned, using that confident voice to pass on encouragement to the anxious men in front of him. It took three passes but he got a great shot of Fair's butt, that wasn't completely blocked by the stupidly large sword.

"What are you doing?"

Reno jumped and turned to the voice behind him. He should have known that there was someone behind. It wasn't like Legend was known for being subtle and with the cigar hanging out of his mouth; he should have at least smelled the man.

He snapped his phone shut quickly. He felt his face burning at being caught taking pictures of a SOLDIER's butt by his mentor. Legend was giving him his 'I caught you' look.

"Nothin', Ledge," he said as he slipped the phone into his pocket. "Jus' observing the SOLDIERs, yo."

"I see that," Legend said as he puffed on his cigar.

Reno swallowed. He felt like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and now was going to get major hell for it. He hadn't seen Legend for about a year, and he knew the first thing he was going to do was lecture him.

~ _way to go~_

The first thing Reno noticed was that the man looked different. He looked older and tired. His blond hair was not as shiny as before, his skin looked a little greyer, and a slight rasp that wasn't in his voice before, was now present. There was nothing wrong with his eyes, which were bright and dark, and full of amusement.

"Heard ya were back," Reno said. "How was it?"

"Eh," he said with a shrug. Legend was never one to talk about his missions once they were over. "Heard you've been getting into trouble."

Reno rolled his eyes. He must have been talking to Tseng. "Nothin' more than normal, yo."

Legend laughed. There was definitely a new rasp in his voice. "That's saying a lot, right there."

"Glad ya find me amusing, too, Ledge," Reno grumbled. He looked over to where the new SOLDIERs were now filing out. Zack noticed that he was looking. The cocky SOLDIER raised his hand in a two finger salute and with that damn charming smile of his, before he turned and followed out the troops.

"I'm hungry. Let's go grab a bite," Legend said as he placed a hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him to walk forward. Reno obeyed.

"As long as it's not the Mess, yo. I don't think I can stomach anymore of that slop," Reno said as they started to walk. Lunch was some horrid cream soup that had hotdogs floating in it.

~ _thought I was_ _gonna_ _puke~_

He had a spoonful of the stuff and that was all it for him. He was amazed at how easily everyone else enjoyed the slop.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Legend said. "Got us a table at Monteno's, just like old times." He chewed on his cigar, pushing his chin towards where the SOLDIERs disappeared. "What was that about?"

"He's just bein' a pest, yo," Reno said.

"You shouldn't mess with SOLDIERs, Reno," Legend said.

"Pfft, Zack is harmless."

~ _as long as you aren't near Cloud~_

"There is no such thing as a harmless SOLDIER."

~ _a lot less dangerous than Sephiroth~_

"Whatever, man," Reno said. "It's jus' Zack. The guy's nickname is 'Puppy', for Gaia's sake."

"I remember what they used to call you as well," Legend said. "It still does not mean that he won't be dangerous when necessary."

Reno rolled his eyes again. "I know what I'm doin'," he said, stubbornly narrowing his eyes to his mentor.

~ _if you keep saying that, maybe one day it'll come true~_

"Is that why you were taking pictures of his ass?" Legend said as he pulled his cigar out of his mouth. The tobacco smelt so good, and he was craving a cigarette badly. Reno answered the question with a grunt as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of gum. It was supposed to taste like cinnamon. It did, but it also had the bitter taste of nicotine in it, as well. He popped a piece in his mouth and chewed it quickly.

Legend grabbed the pack out of his hand. "What is this? Nicotine gum? Trying to quit?"

"Yeah. Trying to stay out of trouble and all," Reno said as he chewed on the gum loudly. Legend tossed the gum back to him.

"By quitting smoking?"

"Yep," Reno said.

~ _not gonna get trapped again~_

"Well, it's a nasty habit, anyway," Legend said, looking at his cigar with an amused glint as he put it back in his mouth. "I want to hear your version of this trouble you're encountering."

Reno grunted. "Sure, whatever." He was not going to confess everything to his mentor. He had no idea how he could explain all the crap that was happening to him.

Reno chewed the gum vigorously as he eyed the cigar in Legend's mouth. He was thinking that he had to buy some of those patches too, to get him through his nicotine withdrawal. He wanted to go for a smoke, but was too unnerved to return to the courtyard, or go any place where he could possibly run into Sephiroth.

He had to try to minimize the chances of having any further possible encounters. His nerves couldn't take it if he had to deal with this persistent teasing. Quitting smoking was one of his tactics, and he knew he should be avoiding Zack and Cloud as well, but he wasn't willing to stop those encounters yet.

~ _Cloud doesn't even realize that he's a tease and Zack is just such a flirt, when he's not jealous~_

He needed to find ways to not think about the past couple of weeks, and a conversation with Legend sounded like a good way to unwind. He was the one man that he could confide in. Legend wouldn't hold anything against him, if he had the courage to talk to him about all the teasing bastards that he had been dealing with. He didn't realize that he missed Legend in the last year. They had only been able to communicate through e-mail, and he had missed actually talking with him. They would make up for that tonight.

"Reno!"

He looked up and couldn't help but smile at seeing Cloud jogging up to him. He was in civvies…

~ _wearing the shirt I bought him~_

…and looking like he was on leave. Strange for a Wednesday, but not unheard of, after all, they had just come back from a mission.

"I didn't see you in the Mess this afternoon. Where were you? Are you finally off that watch?" Cloud asked. He nodded respectfully to Legend who was standing behind Reno.

"Nah. Not yet," Reno said. He wasn't going to tell Cloud that he was actually hiding from him today because he didn't trust himself to behave.

~ _looks damn hot in that blue~_

"Are you feeling okay?" Cloud asked. "Not stiff or anything?"

~ _getting there~_

"I'm good, Cloudo," Reno lied, snapping his gum. "Body is gettin' used to the abuse."

~ _if he undid that top button, I could see his chest better~_

"That's good to hear," Cloud said, turning to point over to the group of four men he was travelling with. Reno recognized Joseph and John right away. Joseph was in full make-up it seemed, and his hair was a wild blue mess, and he had a silly grin. John was already looking annoyed. The other two, Reno knew from his reports - Benot and Cyrus. The two were like Cloud – in the middle of the pack, normal boys trying out to become SOLDIER. Cyrus was known to be a little bit more on the mischievous side. Benot and Cyrus grew up in the same small town and were determined to become the next Angeal and Genesis; grand dreams for small town boys. Not a bad group to go drinking with. They were safe drunks.

~ _I'm_ _beginnin'_ _to sound as protective as Zack~_

"We're going to The Plant for a couple of drinks, and since you still owe me…" Cloud left the rest hanging.

Reno rolled his eyes and looked over at Legend.

~ _if it was anyone but Legend, I would join Cloud at the pants…~_

Reno took in a deep and controlled breath and refrained from slapping himself in his face…plant, not pants. Plant. He was just glad that he hadn't said it out loud. That would be embarrassing.

"Got other plans right now," Reno said, very carefully. "I'll still have to owe ya."

Cloud's brow furrowed. He reached forward and put his hand gently on his arm. "Excuse us, sir," Cloud said towards Legend. Legend just nodded. Reno allowed Cloud to grab his elbow and pull him away from his mentor.

~ _he should roll up his sleeves so you could see his arms better~_

"Are you okay? You look kinda down again," Cloud said in a low voice as he leaned close to him.

~ _he smells nice~_

"Huh?" he said, trying not to look obvious as he took in a deep breath.

~ _is that aloe?~_

"Reno!"

~ _nah_ _, it's more like honey~_

"Wha?" Reno said, prying his eyes off of how that blue shirt dipped into his chest.

~ _I wonder what kind of soap he uses?~_

"You are spacing out," Cloud said. "You've been doing that a lot lately."

"Just worked to the bone," Reno quipped.

~ _or_ _working my bone_ _, is more like it~_

Reno snorted, rolling his eyes, and looked over to where Legend stood. He was looking amused. He really had to curb his irrational and smutty thoughts running through his head.

"You need to relax. You sure you can't come out?" Cloud said, his blue eyes growing large and pleading.

~ _can make a guy melt~_

"Are ya outta money or somethin'?" Reno said, and straightened himself up.

"I have enough to cover. It's Benot's birthday, so were gonna get him hammered." Cloud smiled and looked at his group of friends who were waiting patiently. Well, everyone but Joseph. Joseph was bouncing around the largest boy in the group, who happened to be the birthday boy.

"Gonna catch up with Ledge," Reno said, thrusting his chin toward Legend. "It's been a year."

"If you're sure," Cloud put his hand on his arm again. A small, concerned touch that set his nerves on fire. "Are you sure you're okay?"

~ _he smells so good~_

"I'm fine, yo."

Cloud frowned at him. "Call me if you feel like talking," Cloud said, squeezing his arm in his firm and talented hand.

"Hey! Chocobo-head! We're gonna leave without you!" Joseph yelled.

Reno snickered.

Cloud glared at the blue-haired man and then to him. He let go of Reno's arm and Cloud moved his arms stiffly to his side with clenched fists. "You repeat that and I will hit you," Cloud threatened.

"Whatever, yo." Reno smirked. "Chocobo-head. Suits ya."

Cloud's jaw clenched and his finger pointed straight at Reno's nose, almost touching it. "Don't you dare," he said with a low grumble.

"Wouldn't think about it," Reno said.

~ _gonna change my phone ID~_

Cloud sighed as Joseph called him 'Chocobo' again, and all the other men laughed around him. Cloud slapped his shoulder, said his goodbye, and jogged over to his friends.

"Gonna take a picture of his ass, too?"

Legend was now standing right beside him.

The thought had crossed his mind but there was no way to be subtle about it. He just grinned. "I'm ready for some food, yo," Reno said, trying to change the subject of his obsession with SOLDIERs.

Legend gave a low, husky chuckle. Reno watched as the group of young men loudly started toward the train station, while he walked the other way to enjoy a good meal in a good restaurant with good company.

At least this day isn't going to be a complete waste of time.

* * *

Reno was stuffed and felt damn good about it.

He had all the good stuff – no - the best stuff on the menu. He had an appetizer of Escargot, which Legend refused to eat any of the 'slimy things'. Reno enjoyed the meal of steak and lobster that came on a bed of rice. Legend ordered what he normally ordered when they went to Monteno's – a simple steak, potatoes and vegetables. For a guy that introduced him to the great food, he was predictable and boring when it came to his choices. But that was not why Reno was starting to become worried; Legend hardly touched the food he ordered. Reno found himself picking food off his plate.

"Have you been starving yourself?" Legend joked at him as he took a piece of his steak.

"Mess food sucks, yo," Reno said around a mouthful of food. "I haven't had time to come down and eat properly. Ya aren't eatin'." He pointed to his plate.

"Not as hungry as I thought," Legend said simply, waving his hand. "You want to order dessert?"

Reno, of course, did. He was _so_ stuffed. He felt good and relaxed. Of course, they had not talked about anything upsetting. They talked about the gangs still roaming the slums, the latest bludgeoning and the last set of bombs that Legend used to finish off his mission. Nothing disturbing at all.

"Tseng has been keeping you busy, I hear," Legend started.

Reno suddenly wished that he hadn't eaten so much. He knew where the conversation was going to go and he didn't want to have it.

"Yeah," Reno said warily, and he looked over at Legend who was chewing on an unlit cigar. He wondered how much Legend knew.

"Cissnei is even worried about you," he said, leaning forward. "Rude said you were acting odd, as well."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"I do _not_ accept that as an answer," Legend said in a serious tone. Reno could hear his raspy breath, almost a rattle as it left his chest.

"Well, I don't really wanna talk 'bout it," Reno said, a little sharper than he meant too. "And you didn't really ask a question, ya."

Legend sniffed and leaned back in his chair. "I guess I didn't."

Reno put a hand on his full belly and sighed heavily. "I don't wanna talk about it here. I got some good drink back at my place." He was thinking about the half bottle of that Banora Apple Vodka, and then maybe he could talk about it without being too much of a fool.

Legend nodded. "As long as you let me smoke."

Reno couldn't refuse him.

* * *

Reno wanted to cry.

He sunk into his couch and stared at the newest offending bottle of flavoured vodka. Legend held the bottle, examining it closely. "This is expensive stuff. You moving into fancy booze too?"

He was able to hide the note that had been attached to it before Legend saw it, and had stuffed it back into his pocket. He hadn't have time to read it, but he knew who it was from.

"Guess so," Reno pouted.

"You are tense."

"Yeah, well."

~ _at least there weren't_ _any_ _flowers this time~_

"I do have some good new for you," Legend said as he walked to the kitchen. He was gathering some cups. "Rufus requested that you join him on a trip to Kalm."

He sank further into the couch and let out a heavy groan. He clutched at the note in his pocket and dreaded reading it even more.

~ _how is that good news?~_

"You won't be going. I will," Legend said as he returned. "Tseng mentioned that you were having some issues with the Little Boss."

Reno waited to respond until he had a good solid drink poured down his throat. He could see Legend's eyes intensely examining him. Did everyone know about Rufus? How did he not know that the Brat Boss was a…

~ _sexy, controlling, manipulating, handsome, scary, domineering, attractive ~_

 _…_ horrible tease.

He sighed heavily, enjoying the burn and bittersweet taste of the flavoured vodka. "Why you? You jus' got back, ya," Reno said as he held up his empty cup, wiggling it slightly.

"Oh. Would you rather go?" Legend said as he poured the drink into the younger man's cup.

"No, no, no! It's all fine. I jus' wanted to know why you?"

~ _even though I may have gotten laid, finally~_

Reno frowned at his own betraying thoughts. He took the drink and guzzled it. "So," Reno drew out the word, "what did Tseng tell you?"

Legend made himself comfortable in the chair across from the couch. He let out a sigh and leaned back in the chair, running a hand absently over his chest. Legend took in a deep breath and reached into his pocket for another cigar. "Enough." "Enough?" Reno muttered, "Shit."

"How did you even get on his radar?" Legend said as he lit the cigar and took in a deep drag. Reno frowned as he heard Legend take a shaky breath in, but it seemed to be negated with a heavy sigh.

"Dunno," Reno whispered, leaning forward to pour some more. He was already feeling quite warm from the first two drinks and a full stomach. He was actually starting to feel like he could relax, especially with Legend around to look after him a bit again.

"Well, he can be quite a pest," Legend said, rubbing his chest again.

"Has he ever tried it with you?" Reno asked, sinking blissfully back into the couch. He had a great couch; soft and warm.

"Nope," Legend said. "I'm not on his radar." Legend swirled the liquor in the cup.

Reno frowned. "You haven't taken a sip of that yet, yo."

Legend grunted as he put the cup on the table. "Not in the mood to drink."

Reno blinked a few times. "Not in the mood? What the hell, Ledge? This is good stuff and you don't even sip at it, yo."

"Not in the mood for it, I guess," Legend said, straightening in the chair. "Plus, I came here to talk to you about your problems, not mine."

~ _Ledge has problems?~_

Reno was going to ask what kind of problems he could possibly have. He was Legend after all. He didn't have problems that lasted long.

"What was up with you taking pictures of that SOLDIER's butt and that infantryman asking you to join him at the bar? You are a Turk. Why are you hanging around with them?" Legend said, leaning forward slightly, exhaling the smoke from his cigar.

~ _man, I want a smoke~_

"Just friends."

~ _unfortunately~_

"You took a picture of his butt!" Legend said quickly.

Reno threw his head back.

~ _Zack's butt is epic~_

 _~always nice to look at~_

 _~wonder if it is as firm as it looks~_

 _~wonder if Cloud's is the same~_

"Reno!"

"What?" he yelled back and sat up straight. Legend's eyes were boring right into him. Legend wanted answers and he didn't want to ask questions to get them. Reno cleared his throat and tried to gather his thoughts. "Well! It's all my fault that those two Spike-Brains are together anyway, yo!"

Legend gave him a confused look.

"Shit. If I hadn't been taunting Wannabe about staring at his butt…" he let his voice trail as he realized what he was saying. Is that what was bothering him? It was almost like he set them up, and he highly doubted that they would be together if he had not made that silly bet. What would have happened if he had Zack take him home instead of Rude? What if he had taken Cloud home instead of getting so drunk that he couldn't walk or keep his eyes open? "I pushed them together!"

~ _hell, I didn't know I wanted them until they kissed each other~_

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Legend said. "Are you talking about that First Class SOLDIER and that infantryman?"

Reno really wanted a smoke and Legend's cigar and irritating questions were not helping his craving. "Yeah."

Legend shook his head. Reno wished he could hide from that intense dark gaze of his. "I thought you had a thing with Kaze?"

Reno frowned and looked down at his lap. "We weren't exclusive," Reno muttered and hated admitting to him that they weren't more than just 'fuck buddies'. The last phone call he had with Kaze had been short and tense. He knew Kaze was seeing someone now and wanted to be exclusive with. It wasn't him.

Legend stared at him, he could feel the gaze. He hated the way that Legend could read him at times. He looked right through him. He could do that right from the beginning, and it was annoying.

"So," Legend said, dragging out the word. "You're lusting over SOLDIERs?"

Reno nodded and took another sip of his drink. "Ya, I'm pathetic," he said and looked away from Legend. He couldn't look at him and see the judgement in his eyes.

Reno heard Legend sigh heavily and move in the chair. "I don't want to tell you how to live your life…"

Reno rolled his eyes and threw his head back against the couch. He whispered, "One hundred and fifty-two."

"Pardon?"

Reno groaned. He hadn't meant to say it out loud. He looked over at Legend who was sitting on the edge of the chair, as if he were about to stand. His stern 'fatherly' look was on his face. Legend was as close as he got to a father as he would ever have.

He was caught. "Ya've told me that one hundred and fifty-two times," Reno muttered. "'I don't want to tell you how to live your life', speech."

"You've counted?"

Reno smirked. "Yeah. I do that with certain things, ya." He had a running tally on a few things that either annoyed him or how he annoyed someone else. This was one of the things that he was annoyed with. He had heard it over one-hundred and fifty times, after all.

"I've said it that many times?" Legend seemed taken aback by the number.

"Yeah."

"Have you listened to any of my _speeches_?" Legend asked in a lower tone that seemed to be coming from deep in his chest.

Reno sniffed. "Yeah, most of 'em."

Legend may have an annoying way of presenting his advice, but his advice was good. "Well, I am going to give you some more. Forget those SOLDIERs. Stay away from Rufus. Find yourself a good girl and quit pissing off Tseng." Legend stood, rubbing his chest and gave out a low cough as he pulled his cigar out of his mouth.

"A girl? Ledge, you know I don't go that way, yo," Reno said, laughing slightly. Legend never did understand his preference for other men. He tolerated it, but didn't understand it.

"Still think you should find a girl. None of your other relationships," Legend paused on that word and cough lightly, "worked. Don't you think you could find someone that is more than sex?"

Reno scowled and stood up. "Not all my relationships were just about sex! I'm not a slut, Ledge."

Legend was getting himself a glass of water and looking like he was trying to suppress a cough. He put his half completed cigar in the sink.

"I didn't mean it like that," Legend said and took a wheezing breath. He watched as Legend reached into his pocket and pulled out an inhaler. He placed it against his lips, pressed on the canister and inhaled sharply. He took a couple of deep breaths before putting the puffer back into his pocket.

"What the hell was that, yo?" Reno charged at his mentor, rifling through his pockets to grab the inhaler. He examined the small medical device and gave him an accusing look.

Legend shrugged. "I was late in administering my dosage," he said, taking it back from him. He gave a heavy sigh, but the harshness that Reno had detected earlier in his voice seemed to be more pronounced.

Reno must have look horrified, because that was certainly how he felt.

"I wasn't just away on a mission, Reno," Legend said in a soft voice and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Reno looked at his mentor and was afraid to ask how sick he really was. "Where were ya, then?" It was a question that he didn't really want to have answered.

"I did have a mission, but got a sniff of something bad, burned my lungs up so I have to huff this shit all the time. I can breathe again, but I need to take a puff every three to six hours. Kind of sucks."

"Were ya goin' to tell me?" Reno said.

Legend scoffed. "Would you have told me about Rufus?"

~ _hell, no~_

"Is that why you can't drink?"

"Yeah. Not supposed to smoke either, but that is a little harder to stop," Legend said as he looked at his discarded cigar. "Maybe I should borrow some of your gum."

"Ledge?" Reno said softly, "How bad is it?"

"Bad," Legend said. "Don't you worry about it. I am more worried about you and this infatuation with SOLDIERs."

~ _if he knew about Sephiroth, he'd probably stop breathing~_

"What about Rufus? You're not worried 'bout him?" Reno said as they stood in the kitchen.

"Tseng will do his best to limit your interactions," Legend said. "And I will as long as I can."

~ _as long as I can?~_

"Hey! Don't look at me like that," Legend said.

"Are you dyin'? Ledge, give it to me straight. Why ya talkin' like that? You can't be dyin'." Reno said, noticing that his voice rose with panic.

Legend pulled away from him.

That answered his question.

"What'd ya breathe in?" Reno asked, his own chest hurting in sympathy.

"I blew up some Sulphuric Acid tanks," Legend said with a smile. "It was great."

~ _great!~_

"It just about killed you!" Reno blurted. "And you are saying that it was great!"

"Like you don't like blowing things up!" Legend yelled back. "I seem to recall that you and your partner like to use explosives, as well."

"We haven't ended up with scarred lungs, yo," Reno said. "Damn, Ledge." Reno felt ill. His heart was fluttering way too fast, his head too light and to top it all off, his eyes felt like they were burning. "You can't die," Reno whispered and sniffed.

~ _do not cry~_

"Damn it, Reno," Legend said and reached out to him. Reno didn't pull away as Legend's comforting arms reached around him. He rested his forehead against his mentor's chest and cried. He hadn't done this since he was nothing more than a brat. Not a Turk yet, but still a kid trying to recover from the horrors that had been his life, and trying to realize that the world wasn't that horrible after all.

He didn't know how long he cried, with the fatherly hands rubbing his shoulders and whispering a string of comforting words that he wasn't really listening to. As his tears slowed, he noticed the rattle in his mentor's chest was persistent, as if he was having difficulty breathing. He pulled away and avoided looking at his face. Strong and wilful Legend never showed weakness, mentally or physically, and now… now, he was broken.

"Was that why ya didn't call?" he whispered, hating the sound of his voice. He sounded like back when he was a stupid, drugged up idiot again. "I hated jus' gettin' e-mails."

"Couldn't talk for six months," Legend said, still rubbing Reno's arms gently. "Made up that bit about the fact that they could trace the call, but my old phone did get trashed. I kinda melted it." Legend let go of one arm and put a hand under his chin, forcing Reno to look up at him. "You going to stop freaking out now?"

"Yeah," Reno said, feeling really silly. He pulled away from his mentor and wiped his face. "For now."

"You know I don't mind you crying on me," Legend said with a smirk. "How many shirts did you wreck on me with more than just your tears?"

Reno snorted. "I was a stupid punk kid then." He waved the thought away.

"You didn't count that?" Legend asked. "I believe it was forty-two. I think I even have the expense accounts to back up that number."

"You counted how many shirts I wrecked?" He sniffed and wiped at his face, trying to get rid of the traces of being a baby.

"You count my lectures. I can count ruined shirts," Legend said as he picked up his unlit cigar and started to chew it. "Let's go have another drink and we can talk about your current SOLDIER fetish."

Reno grabbed the cigar from him and fished out a piece of gum from his pocket. "I am gonna make sure you listen to your docs better. You're gonna stop smokin'," Reno said, grabbing his tea-towel from the stove and blew his nose loudly in it.

"You're a pest," Legend mumbled.

"Yeah, I know."

"Reno, I didn't want to hurt you."

"Finding out when you died would have hurt, yo!" he yelled at him, waving the towel in his direction. Legend backed away from him, with a grimace. "Fuck! We have gone through a lot of shit, and you didn't tell me that you just about killed yourself, Ledge!" The pain was still present in his chest, but now it was converting into anger – anger for not being told that the man, whom he thought of as a father and mentor, had just about died and no one had told him.

"It wasn't like I was trying to kill myself," Legend responded. "Didn't know that was in the tank."

"Well, ya always tell me to look where I shoot, and you should watch where you roll those damn bombs of yours, too!" Reno yelled. "Where's that fuckin' bottle, already?" Reno wanted another drink before he turned into a baby again.

"Was that one of my lectures?" Legend joked.

"Most likely."

They made their way into the living room again. Reno didn't bother with the glass and took a swig right from the bottle.

"Are ya going to tell me about those SOLDIERs?" Legend asked, taking a seat again. Reno didn't like the fact that he pulled out that inhaler again and took two more puffs off of it.

"There's nothin' to tell, Ledge," Reno said. "They got each other. I am dealin' with the flirty boss, bitchy boss, overly happy partner and a trio of flirty bastards. Everyone else is gettin' laid but me, yo. Did ya know that Rude's doin' Sissy?"

Legend coughed and his eyes grew wide.

~ _I finally knew something someone didn't~_

"Yeah," Reno continued, taking another swig. "Those two are so full of sweetness, it's tooth rottin'. Almost as bad as the Spike-Brains are when they think people aren't lookin'. All smoochy-woochy, touchy-wouchy, overbearing, over-protective, sappy-wappy…" He stopped his tirade.

~ _where was I going with this?~_

Legend looked at him. "Trio?"

~ _trio? Did I say that? ~_

"I meant duo," he quickly corrected. "Duo." He did not want to talk about Sephiroth. He didn't know what he should be thinking of Sephiroth. He would have to be a complete uptight ass not to think that Sephiroth wasn't attractive, but he was Mr. Frost.

"Uh-huh?" Legend said. Reno hoped that he bought the 'duo/trio' slip-up. "So, everyone is flirting with you, and no one is giving you any action. Is that what the problem is?"

~ _that about sums it up~_

Reno rolled his eyes and took another drink. "Just a little frustrated," Reno muttered. "Kinda high-an-dry."

"All your craziness is because you are sexually frustrated?" Legend said and chuckled.

"It has been at least a month, yo!"

Legend laughed harder.

Reno frowned.

~ _why is everyone happy with my misery?~_

"I've never known you to have a problem getting laid! When did this start happening?"

Reno didn't answer. He slammed the bottle – hard – onto the table. He crossed his arms and glared at Legend. Legend laughed even harder, sending himself into a coughing fit.

Reno pulled himself out of his self-induced pout as he saw that Legend took a little while to recover and became pale as he did so.

"Are you alright?" Reno asked with a worried look on his face.

Legend nodded. "Sorry. I know I'm not supposed to be laughing," he wheezed.

~ _everyone else seems to be~_

"Well, it's not amusin' to me," Reno grumbled.

Legend stood, shaking his head slowly. "I will do what I can about Rufus, but he is the boss and all." Legend shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Ya know that I don't want to see anything hurt you." Legend looked down at him. Reno felt like pouting again.

"I'm not a child anymore," Reno grumbled as he crossed his arms again.

"I know," Legend said with another heavy sigh. Reno saw the serious look on his face and grew a little concerned. Legend used to give him that look a lot when he was younger – before Reno became a Turk. He was never too sure what that look meant. "I do worry about you."

"I know ya do, but I'm not a runt anymore."

"You're acting like a runt."

Reno stammered, trying to gather the right words for a response to that. Legend reached down and ruffled his hair, which infuriated Reno even further.

~ _either I am treated like a neglected sex toy or a child~_

Reno returned to his pouting pose.

"Take the advice I gave you earlier. Forget those SOLDIERs. Stay away from Rufus. Find yourself a good girl and quit pissing off Tseng," Legend said rattling off the list of things with his fingers.

"I don't like girls. I have been trying to avoid Rufus and his demon pet. Those SOLDIERs are my friends, and pissing off Tseng makes my day!" Reno ticked off the list with his fingers as well.

"There is only so much sway I can pull with Tseng if you upset him all the time."

"Two hundred and thirty-eight times, if you don't count the phone call where I basically told him to fuck-off," Reno said. He couldn't really count that one. He hadn't seen Tseng rub that dot on his forehead, even though he was pretty sure that he did.

Legend shook his head. "You count that?"

Reno didn't bother to answer. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his nicotine gum. He had forgotten the note that he had pocketed earlier and it fell out. Reno didn't notice until the piece of folded paper was opened in Legend's hands.

"Rufus seems to be taken with you, especially if he is sending apologies," Legend said as he tossed the paper on his table. "He has broken bigger men than you, with less."

~ _who the hell else did Rufus do this to?~_

"Tseng said the same thing," Reno said with a heavy sigh. "I didn't ask for his attention."

~ _just want him to stop_ _teasin'_ _and get on with it already!~_

Reno looked at the note. It was simple. It read simply, 'Apologies, Rufus.'

~ _at least it wasn't anything embarrassing~_

Legend let out a sigh. "I know. You didn't ask for a lot of stuff to happen to you. You are just a natural trouble magnet."

~ _trouble magnet?~_

"Geez, thanks for that," Reno mumbled, even though he knew it was true. If something went wrong, it was bound to happen to him. A trouble magnet was what he felt like for the last little while.

Legend gave a chuckle and slid beside him on the couch. He let out a sigh. "Do you want me to stay? I can tell Tseng you got sick and you can skip out of that boot camp tomorrow. You look exhausted." Legend put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I can watch over you, kid."

It was tempting, but he wasn't a kid anymore. There was no point pointing out that he wasn't a kid anymore. "Nah. It's not like I have monsters in the closet to worry about."

~ _just a_ _quartet_ _of hotties in the halls that keep_ _teasin'_ _and_ _playin'_ _with me~_

Legend snorted. "Forgot about that." He squeezed his shoulder and let his hand rest there. "You sure? I don't mind crashing here."

Reno swallowed. "Who was it?"

"Who was what?"

"Who else did Rufus tease? You know. Tseng knows. Sephiroth knows. No one has told me who, so tell me who it was," Reno said.

Legend sat silent for a little while. Reno just stared at him. He really wanted to know. Who was the guy that Rufus did it to?

"It was Genesis Rhapsodos."

Reno was pretty sure his heart stopped. Genesis. That arrogant, self-centered asshole had been teased and broken by Rufus.

~ _I don't have a chance!~_

"Reno?"

"Are ya shittin' me?" Reno bellowed and reached for that bottle on the table. He needed another drink. "Right? You're shittin' me?"

Legend shook his head.

Reno took a gulp of the vodka. "I think I changed my mind," Reno said. He very much doubted that he would be able to sleep now. At least knowing that Legend was watching over him would give him a little more time to sleep in the morning…

 _~hell, Genesis!~_

"I think I need a little extra sleep," Reno said. "I-I think I could use it."

Reno took another drink. His head was beginning to hurt with all the drama that surrounded his life. Now he had two more dramas that were on that list. Knowing that Rufus had somehow tamed the temperamental Genesis upset him quite a bit, and knowing that Legend was ill was devastating. He needed some sleep where he didn't have to worry, and with Legend looking over him, like he used to when Reno was a scared druggy, would make him feel a little better.

 _~hopefully~_

"Ledge?" Reno looked over at him. His mentor was giving him a serious look, and an even more intense frown.

~ _what the hell?~_

Legend gripped his shoulder almost painfully. "How do you know that Sephiroth knows?"

~ _shit~_

* * *

Sulphuric acid is nasty, nasty stuff… don't spill it on yourself and don't set bombs off near the holding tank… mists are bad, I say! Wear your respirator… the lungs are a very delicate organ. Legend is lucky that they were able to heal all the burns from the acid.  
The more you know (star shoots across screen)

So let me know what ya think about this latest chapter. More angst for our dear friend Reno here… so thick….but at least he got a shot of Zack's ass.

Have a Happy New year!


	32. Voodoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Authors Note**  
I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

Cloud uses his _magic fingers_ on Zack. Smut, Lemon, fluff –whatever- this chapter has all of that!

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

VOODOO

* * *

"Where ya going with that?"

Cloud jumped and tried not to flush. It was John looking at him from the door. Cloud swallowed hard as he looked at his friend.

"Nowhere," he squeaked.

John shook his head at him. "Are you gonna go visit your sugar-daddy?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "He's not my sugar-daddy!"

"Well, if you tell me his name, I wouldn't call him that," John said, grabbing the small leather bag from his hands. Cloud gasped and instantly reached up to try to grab it, but John was quicker…and taller.

~ _I hate being short~_

"So? Are you?" John said and smiled.

"Am I what?"

"Going to see your sugar-daddy?" John said, dangling the bag just out of Cloud's reach, but Cloud jumped up to grab it from him.

Cloud blushed. "So what if I am?"

John laughed. "I have it narrowed down."

"Narrowed down?" Cloud gave John a confused look.

"I figure it is either Reno or Zack," John said as he flopped onto Cloud's bunk with his arms behind his head.

Cloud froze and stared at his highly amused-looking friend.

"So it _is_ one of them." John chuckled.

"You haven't told Joseph anything, have you?" Cloud said quickly. If Joseph knew, then everyone would know.

"Nah. He still thinks that Zack and Reno are an item and is amusing himself with those thoughts," John said as he fluffed the pillow under his head.

~ _I can't say I haven't been amusing myself with those thoughts, as well~_

"Which is it?"

"Give it a rest," Cloud mumbled and put the satchel into his shoulder bag. It wouldn't look so conspicuous carrying it that way.

~ _plus your toothbrush, don't forget that again~_

John chuckled. "It could be Reno. I mean, the guy is nearly stalking you at lunch time right now, and he nearly drools when you use that reflexology on him. He eats with you at every opportunity and we all know how he despises the food in the Mess, so _something_ has to keep him there."

Cloud was about to protest but John continued talking.

"And it could be Zack. I mean, you train with him every Tuesday and Thursday and he meets you for lunch or dinner at every opportunity." John turned his head towards Cloud and smiled. "You hardly spend any time here anymore, so we know that your sugar-daddy has to have a place nearby."

"Cut it out, John."

"Or it could be both. You did get _awfully_ flustered when Joseph mentioned a threesome," John said with a large grin on his face. "Never mind when I took that picture of you sandwiched between them."

"Whatever," Cloud mumbled. "I am signed out for the night. See you in the morning." He wanted to get out of there.

"You know who I think it is?" John said, jumping up from the bunk and blocking his path. He leaned forward and whispered, "I think it's Zack. You did always stare at his ass."

Cloud flushed.

"I guessed right then, huh?"

"Whatever," Cloud said again, trying to step around John and trying to make his cheeks cool down.

John grabbed his arm. "I won't tell anyone."

"I'm going to be late," Cloud said, but John was still holding on to him.

"I like Zack. He is a good guy, but he is also a First Class SOLDIER. It may be looked upon as favouritism or sexual harassment," John said with a serious tone of voice.

"It is nothing of the sort!" Cloud blurted a little louder than he intended. He was grateful that there was no one else in the room.

"I know that, but that is how it might look," John said. "He's not just using you, is he?"

Cloud shook off his arm. "Now you are turning things around. You guys go around making it sound like I am using him as a _s_ _ugar-_ _daddy,_ and now you are worried that he is using me?"

John chuckled lightly. "Point taken." He moved aside. "I won't bring it up again. I'll make sure that Joseph doesn't phone you."

"That would be appreciated," Cloud said as he adjusted the…

~ _overnight~_

…bag on his shoulder. He searched his pockets to make sure that he had the key card for Zack's place and found it in the front of his pants.

"Is Zack hurt?"

He looked to John and furrowed his brow. "Not that I know of. Why are you asking?"

"Your oils. You only bring those out for those that push themselves pretty hard. I didn't…" John stopped talking as a strange look came across his face and he made a long drawn out 'oh' sound.

Cloud pushed at him and felt his face burning. "Shut up," he mumbled. "See ya later."

John laughed. "Have a good time. I'm sure Zack will."

* * *

Zack had been dozing on the couch when he heard his door open. He smiled and looked over to the door to see Cloud removing his boots.

"Wondering where you were," Zack said, stretching loudly.

"Yeah, I can see that." Cloud chuckled tossing his shoulder bag onto the kitchen table.

Zack frowned. "Are you planning on studying? Why'd you bring your bag?"

Cloud gave a small smile. "No reason."

"No reason?" He knew that smile. Cloud was up to something. "What do you feel like for supper? I kinda dozed off and I don't have anything prepared."

Cloud shrugged. "Not hungry yet. You look comfortable." He watched as Cloud walked over and looked down at him with that sparkle in his eyes.

The only think Zack took off when he got home was his sword, and he had promptly fallen onto the couch and hadn't moved. He still had his boots on. Zack grunted. "Was a long day." He moaned and stretched.

"A long day? What did you do? You weren't in the Mess at lunch," Cloud said, leaning on the back of the couch.

"You try staying awake during a terrible six hour meeting listening about the benefits of urban development and act attentive. It's exhausting. I think I even caught Sephiroth dozing once," Zack said as he put his arms behind his head. "What did you do today?"

"The usual," Cloud said, leaning heavier against the couch and leaning over him with that small smile still on his lips.

~ _teasing smile~_

"Are you sure you're not hungry? You look like you are," Zack teased, unable to stop the smirk from forming on his lips.

Cloud made a humming sound and blatantly rolled his eyes up and down Zack's body. "I had some thoughts on that," Cloud said, making eye contact with him again. "But you already look so relaxed…" Cloud's voice trailed off and that smile grew a little more. He moved away from the couch and went into the kitchen asking him if he wanted a drink.

Zack blinked. What was Cloud doing? "Sure, could use something." He watched with amusement as he brought one of the many bottles of hard lemonade that were still stocked in his fridge.

"That stuff?" Zack said with a frown. He didn't particularly care for the sweet drink even if his place was packed with it.

Cloud shrugged as he handed him the bottle. "You don't have any beer," he said simply, and promptly sat on Zack's stomach.

Zack gasped and then laughed at the silly sight of Cloud sitting on him and taking a big drink of the lemonade. Cloud thrust his feet out and crossed them on the coffee table and smiled smugly at him.

"Thought you wouldn't want to drink this stuff after your last encounter with it," he huffed and put a hand on Cloud's thigh. His other was preoccupied with not spilling the open bottle.

"Got over it," Cloud said. "Plus, it's all you have for drinks and I don't feel like water."

"So," Zack drawled as he rubbed Cloud's strong thigh, "what's in the bag?"

Cloud smiled. "You're relaxed enough. You don't need anything that I have in that bag." He took another swig and Zack noticed that he was nearly finished with his bottle.

~ _must be interesting~_

"Then why did you bring it over?" Zack asked, trying to figure out what game Cloud was playing.

Cloud twisted slightly and Zack squeezed his thigh a bit. "Just a toothbrush and a few other things," he said with a smile.

~ _other things~_

Zack reached up, grabbing the collar of Cloud's shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. Zack heard a bottle drop from Cloud's hand and felt fingers push into his hair. He felt the young body shift over top of him so that he was prone. The light kiss quickly grew deeper…

~ _tastes great~_

Zack decided that he would have to change his mind on the lemonade. It made his kiss taste sweet. He forced his tongue into Cloud's mouth to enjoy the flavour, causing the younger man to moan and push back with an equal vigour. The moan that Cloud let out as well as the fingers that were massaging the back of his neck was absolutely heavenly.

Cloud broke the kiss and lifted himself up slightly. "That seems to be working for you."

~ _totally doing it for me~_

Zack found that he couldn't keep his eyes open. He found himself humming and wanting to lean back into how those fingers moved against his scalp. It was the most relaxing thing he had ever felt in his life.

Cloud chuckled, but kept those fingers moving and then grinding his hips against him.

~ _totally voodoo~_

Zack tried to say, 'Stop being a tease' but it came out as a low moan.

Cloud had a smug look on his face as he leaned forward to kiss him again. Zack smiled into the kiss.

~ _how did I get so lucky?~_

Zack wrapped his one free arm around the man and rubbed his back. He tried to place the untouched bottle in his other hand on the coffee table so that he could use both his hands on the younger man.

Cloud pulled back, reaching for the bottle himself, sitting firmly on his stomach again. He took a quick slug of the liquid and smiled down at him. "Were you using that voodoo on me?"

Cloud blushed and grinned. "A little."

Zack licked his lips. "So, what's it like when you use a lot?"

"I guess we will have to find out."

* * *

"You know, I am perfectly capable of walking into your bedroom," Cloud said with an amused tone. Zack had scooped him up…

~ _again~_

… and had been planning on carrying him into the bedroom and tossing him on the bed. Zack stopped and adjusted the blond that he had firmly lifted against him with those delicious legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

"But, I already got you," Zack said and squeezed Cloud.

"I can walk!" Cloud squeaked and wiggled, loosening his legs that were around Zack's waist.

"So?"

"So, put me down."

"No," Zack said and pinched his ass. "I said I got you."

"I don't need to be carried over the _threshold_ ," Cloud protested and frowned at Zack. "I can walk."

"But…I got you," Zack said looking down at the blond. Cloud didn't look angry or upset, but did have a determined look on his face.

"You've carried me in there just about - well, every time I have woken up in your bedroom." Cloud's face blossomed with a soft blush, and his lids lowered on his eyes slightly.

Zack blinked, and after a moment chuckled. "I guess I have been doing that, huh?" Zack said and held him in the loose hug. Cloud was right. Just about every time that he had Cloud over, he ended up carrying the smaller man into the bedroom.

"You are just so cu…"

~ _don't call him cute!~_

"Don't say it!" Cloud said and pressed his hands against his chest.

"But it's true," Zack said. "Can't I carry you again, huh? Why change what's working?"

~ _I like tossing him on the bed~_

Cloud shook his head. "Just get in there and strip. I need to get my oils," Cloud said, pulling away from his arms and walking to get the bag on the kitchen table.

~ _oils? Damn~_

Zack smirked and cleared his throat. "Is that an order, sir?"

Cloud stood by the table, and a large smile appeared on his face. "If you want me to use the 'voodoo' on you, yeah, that's an order."

Zack started to pull off his shirt as he walked to the bedroom.

* * *

Zack was anxious. He followed Cloud's order and stripped, and was now lying on his stomach with his head pillowed in his arms. He peered over at Cloud as he pulled out a bottle that must have been the oil.

"I've never used this for this before," Cloud said, his voice sounding a little nervous.

Zack chuckled. "This for this?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "Shut up. You really aren't in a position to start teasing me."

"Sorry, sir," Zack mumbled as he tried to wiggle into a more comfortable position on the bed. He was getting anxious at the thought of Cloud using those hands…

~ _slicked up with oil~_

… on him. Lying on his stomach was not the best position for him at the moment.

Cloud placed the bottle on the end table. Zack watched as Cloud began to undress, only leaving his boxers on. He thought about protesting him and demanding he get naked too, but decided against it.

~ _I'll get him naked soon enough~_

Cloud was unwittingly licking his lips as he looked down at him, his blue eyes moving shamelessly across Zack's body.

"What do I do?"

Cloud blinked. "Uh… just relax." Cloud moved to the bed and bravely ran a hand down his side. Zack shivered and smiled, nestling his head a little more into his arms.

~ _even without that voodoo, his touch is great~_

"Alrighty then," he whispered.

"Close your eyes."

Zack obeyed. He felt liquid drizzle down his spine; it was cold. He tried to remain still and tried not to squirm too much.

"The oil will warm," Cloud said lowly. Zack felt the younger body move around and kneel beside him, and then the hands….

~ _Oh Gaia!~_

The first movements were large, soft sweeping motions to spread the oil across his back. Cloud kept those motions up for a bit before he moved himself so that he was sitting on the back of his thighs; a soft comforting weight.

Then those fingers started to do their magic.

 _~Damn~_

Cloud's hands were on his shoulders and they moved in slow, but sure motions. Cloud's thumbs were at the nape of his neck.

~ _Pinky, ring, middle, index and the thumb twirling in his hair~_

He groaned as both those hands did those movements, and he remembered where else he did that action on him.

~ _I wonder if he realizes that_ _he did that before~_

"How's that?" Cloud whispered in a comforting purr.

"Womberfal," Zack mumbled, not being able to make the words clear.

Cloud laughed and moved one of those hands to reach for the oil again.

He was able to gain some of his composure with his hands not making him turn into goo. "You lied to me?"

Cloud halted his movements. "What? I didn't lie to you." Zack could hear the confusion in his voice and chuckled lightly.

"You using those voodoo moves on me," Zack said, twisting his neck to look at him. "Don't you remember?"

Cloud furrowed his brow. "I think I would remember doing this."

"You just don't know how good those hands are," Zack purred. "The first time was on the train. You were so drunk then, but you should remember the second time in the cab." He examined Cloud's face. He looked confused. Zack chuckled and buried his face into his arms. "You really don't remember, do you?"

"What? I-I… what are you talking about?"

"That motion with your fingers," Zack said, peeking back over his shoulder. "You were driving me nuts that whole train ride back from the bar. It was just resting on my thigh and then you started to move your fingers, like you did just now on my shoulders. And I will never forget the cab on our first date." Zack ended in a whisper and watched Cloud's confusion play across his face.

"I-I don't…I didn't even realize I was doing that!" His eyes grew wide.

"It feels amazing," Zack said with a light chuckle.

Cloud was still for a little while before he lowered his finger to trace down his back again. "I-I," he paused, "I didn't really realize I was doing it."

"You said that already."

"Well, I did that to you and I didn't even realize it," Cloud said in a whisper. "How many times have I done that to _others_ and not even realized I was leading them on?" His voice rose into a higher pitch. "Oh man. I've been doing all this stuff since I got here."

"Were you?" Zack said.

"Was I what?"

"Leading them on?"

"Hell, no! I didn't think of using it like this until you brought it up, you perv!" Cloud snapped and slapped his back.

Zack grunted and then chuckled. "Then don't worry about it and get back at using those voodoo fingers on me."

Cloud snorted and in a low whisper, "Pervert."

But his fingers started to move again tracing up his spine.

"You wouldn't have it any other way," Zack whispered and felt those hands push up his back and to his shoulders.

~ _magical indeed~_

Zack had never felt anything so wonderful before. He had had massages before, but this was absolutely amazing. Areas that were normally ticklish, Cloud was able to graze over with his fingertips and send the most amazingly relaxing feeling through his whole body.

Cloud used some more of the oil that smelled of lavender and sage, working it steadily into every part of his skin. Zack melted into the bed as he worked on muscles that he didn't even realize were sore.

Cloud pulled Zack's arms out from pillowing his face as his fingers began to work the muscles on his biceps. Cloud hummed lowly as he stroked up and down the arm.

"You're so good at this," Zack slurred in a whisper.

Cloud poured more oil on his hands, rubbing them together and kept on going down to his hand where he massaged every single digit. Zack found his eyes drooping as he revelled in each and every magical motion.

~ _voodoo~_

Cloud was taking his time and Zack was not going to rush him. He loved the attention that he was getting, as Cloud moved to his next arm. The pleasant, persistent humming sound became louder. It was just as relaxing as the touch.

"Are you purring?"

Zack took in a deep breath and realized that the noise was being caused by him. He had been purring. Cloud chuckled and moved his hands to the small of his back in a kneading motion. Zack was glad that Cloud couldn't see the bright red flush he developed.

Zack melted. It was the only word that described how he felt. At every fluid, firm motion of Cloud's slick hands, his mind emptied just a little more. He was aware that Cloud had moved and was now doing his legs. He felt himself quiver as his knee was bent and lifted, and a knuckle dug into his foot. Zack let out a whimper.

"Relaxed?" Cloud whispered.

He let out another whimper as Cloud pushed his thumbs into his foot and stroked down to his toes. He heard Cloud chuckle. He tried to think of something smart and witty to say, but he really didn't have anything left in his brain but how damn good those hands felt.

Cloud moved around him after he finished with his other leg. He couldn't see what Cloud was doing, but it seemed that he was hovering over him, using one hand to press against the back of his thighs and butt in firm steady strokes.

~ _heavenly~_

He could hear soft moans coming from Cloud as he pressed and manipulated his muscles into putty. When the motions stopped, Zack started to protest.

"Easy," Cloud whispered. "I need you to roll over now."

Zack obeyed with the help of Cloud so that he could now see the other man, who promptly sat on his thighs. Cloud looked magnificently naked and aroused.

~ _when did he remove his boxers?~_

Not that it really mattered. Cloud poured some more of that oil on his chest and ran his hands down to the crown of hair surrounding his excited cock. Those blue eyes were intense and it made his heart swell.

Cloud gave him a crooked smile. "I should have done this a long time ago," he whispered, leaning forward to kiss him lightly on the lips with hands pressed firmly against his chest. "I don't think I have ever seen you speechless before."

Zack was able to grunt; he couldn't get a word out but he returned the light touch to the younger man's lips. Cloud moved back up again, his hands skimming his body a few more times, causing Zack's eyes to close at the wonderful attention.

Cloud's movements became more precise, starting at the bottom of his ribcage in stroking motions that followed the line of his ribs. He paid each rib that attention until he got to his nipples. The touch caused Zack to gasp and arch his back. Cloud made a small gasp as well. He looked up to see his partner chewing on his lip and looking down at him with lust-filled eyes; his thumbs still twirling on his nipples, making them hard and sending shivers through his body.

"Good?"

Zack was only able to groan in response; his breathing hitched as a new sensation was added. He opened his eyes and could barely focus as he looked at Cloud pushing his erect penis against his own.

Cloud's eyelids lowered as he seemed to be enjoying the sensation as well. Cloud moved his hands from his nipples to reach for the bottle of oil that was by his knee. "Are you liking it so far?"

~ _best. Massage. Ever~_

"Uh-huh," Zack murmured, unable to get any other words out.

Cloud flicked open the lid of the bottle with one hand and reached down to grab Zack by the base of his cock and held it firmly. He brought the bottle up to the tip and let a few drops drizzle onto him.

Cloud moved his hand up to smooth the oil over his member. Simple slow strokes of Cloud's hand, his thumb rubbing the heart-shaped head to have his precum mix with the oil. Zack rolled his hips into Cloud. "Easy," Cloud whispered as he pushed their members together and had his hand surround them both.

Cloud was trying to suppress his moans, but a few whimpers managed to escape his lips, exciting Zack even further. Zack went to reach up and join his hand with Cloud's.

Cloud pushed his hand away and Zack protested weakly. "No touching. That's my job," he whispered as he moved Zack's hand back down to his side. Cloud smirked down at him.

"Wanna touch," Zack whispered as Cloud's hand moved back to surrounding him. He twisted and tried to make the painfully slow hand move quicker. Since he couldn't touch, he clutched at the sheets with vigour. Cloud's other hand went down to caress his balls briefly before he circled his fingers around the base of his penis and squeezed. The other hand stopped stroking and…

~ _Pinky, ring, middle, index and the thumb~_

Zack let out a yell as Cloud's fingers did a long practiced and expert motion around his trembling member. He let out a wordless plea of unbelievable pleasure and twisted his body against the touch; the expert motion making every part of his body quiver in delight after experiencing soothing attention.

~ _Pinky, ring, middle, index and the thumb~_

Cloud's thumb rubbed the head of his penis, while the rest of the fingers danced in easy succession. The fingers moved in slow and measured…

~ _teasing~_

…motions. Zack moaned shamelessly and wanted to grab at Cloud, turn him over and take him, but he didn't want the motions to stop. It felt so _damn_ good.

"Cloud!" he called out in warning, even with the firm grip at his base, he doubted he could stop his imminent orgasm.

Cloud hummed and stopped his fingers from moving, but still had a firm hold on him. Zack took a few moments to catch his breath, torn between being upset at him for stopping and being grateful for gaining his thought process back.

"I think you should call me 'sir' again," Cloud whispered.

"Anything, sir," Zack whimpered.

"Better," Cloud said and he leaned forward and placed a kiss on his nose. "I want you to come when I am riding you." Cloud's face flushed as he spoke.

~ _he has such a wonderful way with words~_

Zack smirked. "Whatever you want, sir."

Cloud reached towards the end table, bringing back with him a condom package that he must have placed there in preparation for this moment. Cloud was looking confident and anxious as he sat on Zack's thighs, concentrating on the small, square package. There were a few moments where Cloud was unable to get a purchase on the plastic; obviously he was having some issues with his oil-slicked fingers.

Zack chuckled and reached for the package and opened it for Cloud who frowned and took it back with a mumble. He fished the condom out of the package and tossed the empty covering aside. Zack watched as it was positioned and rolled down his painfully erect penis.

He was lost in the image of Cloud raising himself; his leg muscles tight as theyflexed, his abdomen quivering slightly, his pupils dilated in anticipation of the acts yet to come…

Zack reached up and grabbed at his hips. "Cloud! I don't want to hurt you," he said in a panic. "You aren't prepared."

"It'll be fine."

"I don't want to rip you!" He knew he wasn't a small guy. He knew he could really hurt Cloud if he wasn't prepared.

Cloud flushed and shook his head. "It'll be okay," he whispered.

"But," Zack started but stopped as he watched as one of Cloud's hands reached down to his groin and slipped beneath his legs.

"I'm ready enough," Cloud said.

It was the sexiest thing he had ever seen to see Cloud hovering like that, fingering himself to prove that he was _ready_ for him. Two of Cloud fingers easily slipped into the warm entrance. He made a few prodding thrusts before he removed his fingers and looked smugly down at him.

"When?" he gasped, his voice soft.

"I wanted to be ready for this," Cloud whispered as he moved his body above him, and used his hand to firmly hold Zack's member so that he could align himself. Cloud was focusing on pressing himself down. Zack gasped as he felt the tightness of his entrance. "I made sure I was prepared."

"I would have loved to watch that, sir," Zack said breathlessly. Zack was still trying to remember when Cloud took off his boxers and when he could have possibly oiled himself up.

~ _did he do that before he got here_ _?_

Just the thought that he would have spent the time, to make sure… was causing his brain to misfire.

"Some other time."

Zack gasped. So tight. He wasn't prepared enough. He was about to protest but Cloud lowered himself more.

Zack took all his effort not to buck into the warmth that was surrounding and squeezing him, but he was still. It took a lot of effort not to toss the blond onto his back and take him. Cloud was a sight to behold – shivering as he sank down, taking him into his body, and with a look of bliss on his face.

~ _mine forever~_

Cloud relaxed and smiled down at him. "So good." Cloud moaned and then started to move.

Zack placed his hands on Cloud's thighs as the muscles bunched when he moved himself up and down in a maddeningly slow pace. Cloud's gasps were low and subdued compared to his normal loud moans and groans, but it was no less enticing.

~ _not like your groans aren't making up for it~_

He was moaning with abandon and letting out pleas for Cloud to pick up the pace. He ran his hands to Cloud's waist and helped the younger man's body with the movements. "Damn it," Zack mumbled and thrust upward. Cloud let out a gasp and reached his hands down to cover Zack's, forcing Zack to let go of his hips and their fingers to intertwine.

Cloud sped up his movements and leaned forward, his whole body hovering over him now, and their hands locked beside Zack's head. The change of position made them both gasp.

Cloud's breathing increased as he continued to move up and down and his erection was now pressed between them. Zack clenched his teeth in determination to hold out against the steady pace that Cloud was setting. It was teasingly slow, but Zack allowed Cloud to set the pace.

He would never get tired of seeing Cloud like this. He enjoyed the feel of being surrounded by the warm tight flesh. He could get lost in Cloud's brilliant blue eyes at half mast, unfocused, and lost in bliss.

~ _I could do this all night~_

Cloud's pace increased and so did his volume. Zack matched the movements as best as he could as he tried not to thrust with abandon.

There was no warning as he felt Cloud yell and burst between their bodies and he tensed with pleasure. Zack felt his member being squeezed in glorious erratic motions that pushed him, very quickly, through to his own release.

Cloud's body kept trembling and Zack thrust forcefully as he felt himself being sucked dry. He didn't think that he could go for that long. Every twitch of Cloud's body just extended his own orgasm a little longer until he was sure that there was nothing left for him to give.

Cloud smiled down at him and was panting slightly.

"Damn that was good," Zack whispered once he gained his voice back. "That voodoo stuff is Firaga on Haste."

Cloud laughed. "It seems that you are in need of a cleanup this time."

Zack smiled back, leaning up and giving the blond a deep passionate kiss. "Why don't we have a shower, sir?" Zack whispered as they broke apart from the kiss.

"Sure." Cloud moved so that Zack slid out of him, causing Zack to groan and Cloud to hiss.

"Did I hurt you?" Zack said, stroking his sides. "You weren't ready, were you?"

Cloud snorted. "Oh, I was ready. I can't believe I lasted that long before jumping you." Cloud lowered himself down completely on top of him, not worried about lying in the mess that he created. "You were so damn sexy lying there all submissive."

"You were damn good with those voodoo fingers of yours," Zack said, gripping one of his hands and bringing it to his lips. "They are like a national treasure or something."

Cloud let out a low chuckle. "I'll have to pay more attention to how I use them," Cloud muttered as Zack continued to kiss his fingers.

~ _darn right, you will!~_

Zack didn't voice his jealousy. Cloud moved to get off of him, but Zack pulled him back down. "Don't think I can walk yet, sir," he whispered.

"I'll help you," Cloud said and pulled away, grabbing both his arms and dragging him towards the bathroom. His legs were like rubber as he obediently followed.

Cloud took care of him in the shower, washing him and his hair and eventually drying him off as they crawled back into the lavender-smelling bed. He sank into the mattress and pulled Cloud into his chest. Cloud chuckled at him.

"What?"

"I have never seen you so quiet."

"I don't think I have ever been so relaxed before," Zack said honestly. "You can do that to me any time, sir." Zack ran his hands through the yellow hair. Cloud made a scoffing sound and stroked Zack's belly in slow, calming motions.

Sleep had just about dragged him into its waiting embrace when he heard Cloud murmur against his chest. Gentle words that he doubted that Cloud even realized he said, but it caused him to pull him tighter to him. He didn't know if he responded to it, but he sure was thinking it as sleep took him.

* * *

Can you feel the love? And I think Cloud get a little kick out of Zack, calling _him_ sir.

Another lust-filled chapter to follow…with Reno.

* * *

 **Author Addition: January 17th**. Shadow of dying light had a query about the voodoo that Cloud doo's, so I added the explanation here that I sent out.

The Voodoo that Cloud doos is a mixture of Reflexology/ Balinese / and Trigger point.

Reflexology focuses on finding the pressure points on the hands and feet to release tension in the rest of the body.

Trigger point is like a pressure point massage, it just moves to other points on the body to find the points of tension… can be painful, but oh so worth it in the end… Reno has felt a little of this.

Balinese massage, which is a gentle massaging technique that uses aromatherapy oils to relax the massagee…in this case Zack.

All very nice massages that can help ease aches and pains and relax the muscles. (And can be sensual with the right person as well) I have used all three but need to find a new massage therapist that can do this again… sigh… I was so spoiled before…I need to find a Cloud.


	33. Incubus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Authors Note**  
I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

Yeah, for those of you that reviewed… *sheepish smile* and I responded… I took to teasing you all about Reno and what will be in this chapter… I hope I am not going to be disappointed or upset with this RENO-CENTRIC CHAPTER. *Evil laughter sound track here*  
*ahem* On with the show!

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **INCUBUS**

* * *

"Sir?"

"Come in Reno," Tseng said in a cool voice.

Reno was nervous as he looked around the entrance way. He only had vague memories of somehow making his way to Tseng's apartment. He did remember that he had refused to go to his office again, but he didn't remember why or how he had accepted entering Tseng's personal apartment.

It had been a trying week. Legend had gone to Kalm and even with the knowledge that Rufus wasn't around, he found himself still nervous and edgy.

~ _Sephiroth is still lurking about and I still don't know what to do about him!~_

Reno was so grateful for seeing Cloud today. He wanted to talk to the man, but it was hard with a crowd full of testosterone-enhanced boys eating the awful swill. He was grateful for the oh-so-short shoulder massage that he was given before he had to go through the rest of the foggy blur of a day.

He was still trying to remember how he got to Tseng's place.

He had only been to his boss' place once before and had been in awe of it then, and it was no different now. It was immaculately neat and organized, decorated in muted tans and blacks, with a few decorations on the walls. Tseng didn't have a television, but a nice stereo system that was playing some soothing music in the living room.

"Would you like a drink? Coffee? Or something a little harder? You look dead on your feet," Tseng said as he moved into the little and immaculately clean kitchen.

"Uh…Do ya have some soda?" Reno asked as he realized that the Boss Man was not wearing his uniform or even a suit. Tseng was wearing a pair of dark slacks that were a little snugger than his normal uniform pants, and stretched delightfully…

~ _never considered the boss' ass before~_

…as he bent over to retrieve a can from the fridge.

Reno caught the can of cola that was tossed at him. Tseng's shirt was rose-coloured cotton…

~ _it looks like the shirt I bought with that fancy suit. I thought he returned the stuff~_

… that was rolled up at the sleeves and open at his throat. He had never seen that much skin exposed on his boss. He was always so proper and primped, and here he was… without shoes.

He swallowed hard. Tseng had bare feet and he could see his ankles as he padded into the living room, holding a bottle of water in his hand. "Come join me in the living room," Tseng said in his calm, soothing voice.

Reno was sure that this was the first time that he saw Tseng wear his hair down instead of in the ponytail that he usually wore tied at the nape of his neck.

"How did I get here again?" he asked and followed Tseng.

Tseng sniffed. "You seemed still too nervous to attend my office for a talk, so I thought this would be more relaxing." Tseng sat in a chair, crossing his legs in a formal fashion, but still looking more relaxed than he ever did in meetings or in his office. "I'm not here to trap you."

"Sure." Reno sat on his couch, opening the can. He was sure that Tseng would not wilfully aid the Brat Boss in his sexual harassment pursuits, and he knew that Rufus was still in Kalm, but he still felt a tension in his shoulders and belly. He really didn't want to get trapped again.

~ _by Brat Boss or Mr. Frost~_

"Legend and I had a long talk about your… situation," Tseng said, taking a drink of his water.

Reno sighed heavily and wished he had asked for something stronger. He knew this was where the conversation was going to go, and he really didn't want to talk about it.

"So ya know that I'm bein' sexually deprived and stalked," Reno muttered. "I don' really wan' ta talk about it."

"It is affecting your efficiency." Tseng uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees…

~ _shit, his chest is awesome~_

…resting his chin in the nest of his hands; a posture that reminded him of Rufus.

~ _and when did I start_ _checkin'_ _out Tseng?~_

Reno felt really uncomfortable. Was Tseng hitting on him or was it an overactive imagination? He had heard an unconfirmed rumour that Tseng swung both ways. There was even a rumour that he had a fling with a young male recruit before he was elevated to being Veld's right-hand man. He wasn't sure of any of it. He had never seen Tseng show any interest in anyone but that girl they were watching in the slums, but Tseng was way too professional to let anything show much.

"Jus' tired Boss," Reno said. "Runnin' the gauntlet every mornin' is pretty tirin'." Reno tried to avoid looking into his boss' dark eyes.

"Legend was saying that you've been sleeping better." Tseng leaned back and took a drink of water. Tseng ran his tongue of his lips to catch some water that escaped the bottle.

~ _fuck, I really need to get laid if I think Tseng is_ _hittin'_ _on me~_

"Yeah, a bit," Reno admitted. Having Legend around had been helping him sleep. Of course, Legend was in Kalm now and not having the security of him around was affecting his sleep again. It only took a couple of days for the exhaustion to seep back into his very bones.

"You will no longer be required to attend the boot camp and observe the Mess. I think you have learned your lesson."

Reno smiled. "Really? You're not jus' fuckin' with me, yo? " He stood up from the couch and felt like dancing, but refrained.

Tseng made a low chuckle. "I do not joke, Reno."

Reno whooped and jumped.

Tseng gave a low…

~ _damn his laugh his sexy~_

… chuckle as he shook his head, with his loose hair spreading around his shoulders. He really should wear his hair like that more often, it was sexy.

~ _stop thinking like that or you'll have to spend an hour in the shower~_

"I need you for regular duties."

"This is great! I miss my chopper, man. I haven't been in the air for months, yo!" Reno said, literally bouncing on his heels. "Back to normal duty! Sweet! It's like a dream come true, yo!"

"It has not been that long." Tseng chuckled, rising from his chair and walked towards his little kitchen. "Would you like something stronger now?"

"It's right away, ya? I mean, I can sleep in tomorrow and all, ya?" he asked. Sleeping in would mean at least sleeping until six instead of waking up at the godforsaken hour of three-thirty in the morning.

"Effective immediately." Tseng nodded as he reached into a cupboard that was by the fridge. Even from the living room, Reno could see an impressive collection of expensive-looking alcoholic bottles. "Vodka is your favourite, correct?"

"Yeah," Reno said, walking toward where Tseng was pouring some mighty fine…

~ _not Banora apple flavoured, but it'll do~_

 _…_ vodka into a fancy crystal glass.

He licked his lips in anticipation of the drink. "Would you like ice?" Tseng was already reaching into the freezer. "I should have anticipated this and placed the bottle in the freezer earlier."

Reno nodded.

He watched his boss put two cubes of ice in the vodka. Tseng handed over the glass. "Thanks Boss," Reno said gladly, twirling the ice around in the glass, enjoying the clink of the sound of the ice hitting the crystal.

Tseng let out a sigh, a sad uncertain sound that sounded odd coming from the boss. Tseng leaned against the counter; he crossed his arms and looked down at his bare feet. "I also have to offer you an apology."

~ _what? Am I dreaming? Tseng just apologized… to me!~_

"Don't look so stunned," Tseng said, tilting his head so that his hair fell loosely over one of his shoulders.

~ _B_ _oss Man never looks this relaxed~_

"Whatcha apologizin' for?"

"I have been quite harsh with you. You have done sillier things than charge extra clothes on a ticket." He rubbed the sleeve of his pink shirt and a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.

~ _it IS the shirt I bought him!~_

"I also believe that you were quite justified in not wanting to come to my office after your… exchange with Rufus." Tseng pushed himself from the counter.

~ _whoa, what is he doing?~_

He stood stunned as Tseng reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder and focused those dark eyes on him. His firm hand squeezing gently as he leaned in. "I may have been over-zealous in my actions."

"Hey, don' worry about it, yo," Reno quickly said. He felt a little nervous and a little curious at the same time. Tseng was standing right in front of him in a…

~ _sexy~_

 _…_ unbuttoned rose shirt, apologizing. Tseng did not apologize for anything. He always had something to justify his orders and actions. There was never anything random about him.

Reno heard the ice clink gently on the side of his glass. His hand was shaking slightly.

"I _am_ worried about it, though, Reno," Tseng said, seeming to move closer. "I have placed one of my best Turks in a position that may be harmful. I have been selfish in how I have been treating you. I need to remedy what I can."

"Remedy what you can?" Reno whispered and brought the shaking glass of vodka to his lips. Tseng's hand squeezed his shoulder again. "What do you mean by that?"

~ _oh, Gaia~_

"I did mention that Legend and I had a conversation about your… issues," Tseng said, drawing out the last word eloquently. Only Tseng's deep rumble could turn that word so sexy. Tseng blinked slowly as he looked at him. There was no doubt that he was flirting with him.

"Yeah," Reno whispered and took another drink to find the ice bumping against his lip. He had already finished the drink that Tseng poured and he didn't remember finishing it. Tseng took the glass out of his hand, placed it on the counter and then turned his focus back to him.

"I won't be able to remedy them all, but I can help with one," Tseng whispered and moved his other hand to his side and pulled him close. "If you will let me."

~ _wha? Tseng is offering to lend a hand? ~_

"Boss?" he asked, feeling his breath quicken. Tseng was the last person in the world that he thought would put the moves on him. He couldn't say that he hadn't admired his boss. He was handsome and all, but not his usual type that he went for. Tseng was so controlled and a calculating type of person, where as he was sloppy and random. Tseng barely tolerated him some days at work. Why would Tseng even be thinking about sleeping with him…

Is that what he wanted?

This was so unlike Tseng and it felt kind of strange.

~ _so wrong~_

It _was_ wrong. Tseng was offering to help him, but when it came to matters of sex…

"Unsure?" Tseng's voice gave a low rumble. "You need not worry about it. It could only be for tonight, if you wish." Tseng was rubbing his side and was so close to leaning against him.

He was completely unsure. This was Tseng. Casual flings and Tseng were not two things that went together.

~ _is he just_ _teasin'_ _me?~_

"For real, Boss?" Reno said, desperately trying to control his breathing before he started to hyperventilate.

"I do not joke, Reno." Tseng moved closer and Reno just about jumped out of his skin at the feeling his boss' lips pressed against his own. A tongue demanding entry into his mouth with some gentle prodding, and Reno allowed the entry.

 _~Tseng kisses like Rufus~_

Tseng dominated the kiss and Reno felt as if he was losing any semblance of control. Reno backed away, panting. Tseng stood in place, but had a predatory smile on his face.

"I do not intend to tease you like the others, Reno," Tseng promised and ran a hand across his own chest and undid a button on his pink shirt, exposing more of his delicious-looking chest. "Unless, of course, you want to be teased."

"No!" Reno said quickly, very confused by his own words and how his feet pushed him back into Tseng's arms. The dark-haired man quickly started to kiss his neck, and Reno moved his head to allow the man easier access.

~ _I can't believe this is_ _happenin'_

Tseng hummed against his throat, sending the shocks through his whole body and straight to his core. "We should retire to the bedroom," Tseng said, moving his lips against his throat and moving to Reno's jaw as he continued to talk. "It will be more comfortable there."

 _~bedroom?~_

Tseng moved to stand beside him, an arm firmly around his waist and leading him rather quickly to a bedroom.

He thought Tseng's bedroom was kind of disappointing. It looked like his room, just neater. The bed was a double with some plain white sheets and a single boring pillow. The dresser against the wall even looked remarkably like his. Tseng was able to keep his closet door closed. He didn't think he had closed the door in the whole time he had been in his apartment; even the mirror that was on the back of the bathroom door looked like his.

~ _mustn't have upgraded from the basic ShinRa furnishings~_

Reno sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at Tseng. The rose shirt was gone and Tseng's pants were undone exposing the fact that he wore a pair of blue boxers beneath those slacks.

~ _when did he do that?~_

"I will gladly take care of you," Tseng said and reached down to tug Reno's belt. Reno yelled as the belt was whipped from the loops of his pants, and he was pushed onto the bed. Tseng laughed as his hands were working on his pants.

"Holy crap!" Reno blurted and wiggled up on the bed. He was all for an enthusiastic romp, but this was Tseng – controlled, stoic, and conservative.

"Is this not what you want?" Tseng said as he moved onto the bed, hovering over him. "I said I would help with your frustration. It is what I can do for you." Before Reno could even respond, Tseng's mouth was on his with his body pressing against him. He never thought that Tseng would be such an enthusiastic kisser. They pulled apart panting. Tseng had a…

~ _evil~_

…strange smile on his lips. "Or do you need more to drink?"

~ _he wants to get me drunk?~_

"Jus' haven't seen ya like this, Boss," Reno said with his eyes examining his boss that hovered over him. Tseng was even flushed and looking damn hot with his hair loose and framing his face. This was a side that he had never seen in him. "Not used to it, yo."

"Did you think I was that much of a stick-in-the-mud that I could not appreciate some good sex?" Tseng busied his hand onto Reno's shirt, grabbing each side into heavy fists and pulling, causing the buttons to rip and pop.

"Hey! What the hell, yo!" Reno yelled, grabbing at Tseng's arms which still held fistfuls of his shirt.

"I will recover the cost of destroying your shirt. This one was stained, anyway," Tseng said and lowered his head to Reno's chest. Reno let out another cry as his warm mouth sucked on one of his nipples.

Reno reached up and pushed his hands into Tseng's loose black hair, gripping it firmly. He was torn between pushing him away or encouraging him to keep going.

~ _this is so weird~_

Tseng raised his head slightly and had that strange smile on his lips again. His tongue darted out and licked his wet nipple. "Do you like that?" Tseng said as he continued to tease his nipples.

"Damn, Boss," Reno gasped.

Tseng chuckled. "You are a little oversensitive." He licked again, causing Reno to groan and buck his hips.

~ _damn right I'm oversensitive~_

 _"_ And eager."

"But…" Reno began, but Tseng quickly reached down and grabbed Reno's pants and lifted, causing Reno to gasp.

"You are wearing too much clothing for us to continue," Tseng said abruptly and Reno found himself flipped and being stripped in quick, efficient movements.

~ _naked in Tseng's bed~_

Reno tried to scurry forward on the bed, at least he tried to. Tseng grabbed his ankle and kept him prone on the bed. He turned his head quickly and saw that Tseng was now naked too.

~ _how the hell did he get rid of his clothes too?~_

A hard slap across his ass caused him to jerk and yell a bit. "I want you right here in the centre of the bed," Tseng said, reaching around his hips and flipping him back into the supine pose so that he was now on full display.

He blushed slightly. He was not one to blush easily but this was the weirdest foreplay that he had ever encountered.

Tseng licked his lips as he was standing between his legs at the end of the bed. "Well, aren't you just the bashful one," Tseng chuckled. Tseng was very naked and very much standing at attention. Reno licked his lips at the sight of his boss' uncircumcised cock bouncing in front of him. How it was framed in dark curls – it was just like he had imagined it would be. It was the perfect length and girth to hold in one's hand.

"Like what ya are seeing?" Tseng said.

~' _ya'_ _?~_

He nodded, though, because he very much did like he was seeing and his own body was responding in kind. His very neglected organ stood and wept for attention. He licked his lips and reached up to touch what was being offered to him.

"No," Tseng said, reaching down to grab both his hands to pin them at his side.

Reno felt a familiar panic rise in him. "Ya said ya weren't gonna tease," Reno heard the whine in his voice. He didn't want yet another person teasing him.

"I'm not," Tseng said, giving him a quick kiss on his lips. "I'm going to take care of you." Tseng trailed the kisses across his jaw, over his eyes and then down to his neck.

"Then stop teasin'," Reno whimpered and thrust his hips so that he pressed against the firm belly above him. He didn't care how weird it was that Tseng was the one that was doing this to him. He could regret it in the morning.

Tseng made a humming sound. "I will not tease you like Rufus did. I will allow you to touch, but I do want to taste you first."

Reno couldn't help but chuckle as he moved up to capture Tseng's lips and forced his way into his mouth.

~ _might as well enjoy the ride~_

The kiss broke with Tseng laughing. "Those others will not appreciate what they are missing." Tseng moved lowering himself to the bed. "Your SOLDIERS don't know what they are missing. They had you right under their noses and didn't even realize what they could have with you."

~ _damn,_ _I can still_ _dream_

Tseng lowered himself further and Reno could feel him breathing against his cock. "Sephiroth would only use you as a toy to satisfy his carnal urges."

~ _being_ _Sephiroth's toy doesn't sound that bad~_

Tseng's tongue traced around his throbbing head, causing Reno to thrust – trying to get more – towards the warm mouth.

"And Rufus would turn you into a blubbering fool. He doesn't appreciate the strength in those that he has had, but I can give you what you need," Tseng said, running his tongue up the vein on his cock.

Reno shivered. "Then quit being a damn tease like they are and suck it already!"

Tseng chuckled. "Of course."

And Tseng was as good as his word. He felt that warm cavern surround him. Reno closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the sensation of a blowjob. It had felt like forever since he had anyone in his bed.

~ _you're in Tseng's bed right now~_

Tseng let go of Reno's hands and started to explore Reno's body by rubbing up and down his thighs and sides. Reno looked down at Tseng but couldn't see his face; his dark hair was hanging in the way. He reached down to the man's face to move the hair.

~ _dreamy~_

Tseng's cheeks hollowed as he sucked on him. Tseng's dark eyes rolled up to meet his, there was a sparkle there and his warm mouth sucked a little harder. He felt one of Tseng's hands reach between his legs and caressed his balls.

Reno groaned and tried to keep focused on the dark-haired man pleasuring him.

~ _still so wrong~_

His mind still couldn't let that argument go, even though his body was already inside of Tseng's warm, heavenly mouth.

"Boss!"

Tseng lifted his head abruptly, a small popping noise as Reno's cock left his mouth. "Don't call me that!" His voice was full of demand and authority. "I am sucking you off right now. Do not call me 'Boss'. Call me by my name or else I will not let you release!"

Reno took in a series of rapid breaths. Boss – Tseng was glaring at him with intense eyes. "Sorry B… Tseng," he gasped. "Please continue."

Tseng tilted his head to one side, his agile tongue licking his narrow lips. "Would you rather wait until one of those that are teasing you to do this?" His voice was lit with anger now. "Would you rather have the puppy nipping between your legs?" Tseng nipped at him, causing Reno to jump. His teeth were sharp as they grazed the oversensitive skin on the side of his cock. "Would you rather that chocobo nuzzling you?" Tseng licked at his cock to emphasize the point. "If they wanted you, they would be here taking care of you right now instead of coveting themselves," Tseng said, his hand increasing the grip around the base of his cock.

"Tseng," he whimpered.

"Or you can wait until Mr. Frost melts enough to do more than thrust you against the wall and threaten you in an elevator," Tseng said as he started to stroke Reno's inflamed cock.

~ _what the hell? Tseng doesn't use slang or nicknames~_

"Do you think that the green-eyed monster would kneel before you and pleasure you? Don't let his gifts of smokes fool you into thinking that he may actually like you. No. He would push you to your knees and thrust himself into that loud mouth of yours."

~ _I didn't tell Legend about the smokes. How would Tseng know about them?~_

"Tseng?" He looked at the man at the end of the bed. "This is so surreal," Reno whispered as he found himself staring into those dark, angry eyes.

Tseng gave him a soft smile, still stroking Reno in a steady familiar fashion. The other hand was holding his balls in a snug vice, squeezing gently. "Of course it is," Tseng whispered. "Close your eyes, Reno. Just let it happen."

"Tseng?"

Reno was so confused. Tseng was being strange; using slang and nicknames, being sexy, and so horny, going from angry to soft, then stroking him again. It was all so very odd. He felt like a whore for allowing this to happen. He wasn't a slut anymore. He liked sex and all, but he didn't just throw himself at any man that offered himself to him.

~ _beg to differ. Tseng is about to jack you off~_

"Close those eyes, and let it happen, Red," Tseng said.

~ _he doesn't call me_ _'Red'_

"Tseng?" he whispered and blinked at the man above him.

"Don't you want to come, Red?" Tseng said, his hands picking up speed. Reno pushed his hips forward to match the movements. "I see you do."

"It's better this way," Tseng said. "Help me make you come." His voice was filled with passion and demand.

Reno released his sheets and put his hand over Tseng's that was moving steadily on his cock. "How did I get here again?" Reno panted, slowly closing his eyes as the intensity of the stroking increased.

Tseng's rumble-like laugh reached his ears. "You dreamed yourself here, of course."

~ _what?~_

He didn't have time to contemplate the thought for long, as an orgasm took him and he felt himself spurt on his belly and chest. He let out a scream that seemed to change the room around him.

When he opened his eyes to look at Tseng, there was no one standing at the end of the bed. The only hands on his body were his own, one holding his softening member, the other cupping his balls, and he was in his own bare bedroom.

~ _alone~_

His sheets were wildly tossed and his legs were tangled hopelessly in them. He was naked and covered in a light sheen of sweat.

~ _all a fuckin' wet dream~_

He looked around for a sign that he just passed out from the amazing hand job that Tseng just gave him. He looked around his stark bedroom and realized that he didn't know what Tseng's bedroom looked like. The only difference from this room and the dream room was the open closet door.

The amazing sex hadn't happened. It had all been a fevered dream of passion because he hadn't been getting any. He looked down at the mess he made and then collapsed back into his messy sheets.

He was going to need a shower.

"I am totally fucked up if I am dreamin' like that, yo," he muttered to himself and slowly got out of bed, not bothering to even wipe himself off as he stumbled to his bare bathroom.

~ _I'm gonna need to change the sheets~_

"Only ten o'clock," he muttered, as he examined the clock. "Fuck."

It was going to be another long night, and he thought about the weirdest damn wet dream he had ever had. He had never had a wet dream before that had a whole plot line. There was so much hope in the beginning. Tseng apologizing…

~ _should have known it was too good to be true right there~_

… and taking him off his punishments, and then offering to remedy his little sexual frustration issue.

 _~Tseng isn't even gay~_

Well, he didn't think so, anyway.

He turned on the water in the shower, muttering a series of curses to himself as he realized that everything that happened in that very vivid dream didn't actually happen.

His punishments were still in effect. Boot camp, Mess Hall watch, and stupid reports were still going to be on his calendar.

~ _I wonder if he kept that pink shirt?~_

Life still was going to suck.

He jumped into the shower, turning on the radio loud to the local rock station. He liked the music. It helped him push the thoughts, of not only the Spike-Brains, Mr. Frost and Bratty Boss out of his head, but of an apologizing and sexy Tseng rattling around in his brain.

~ _gonna sleep with the radio_ _blaring,_ _too~_

* * *

I know, it is a cheap writer's move to use a dream sequence, but I felt Reno needed to get some… even if he is having wet dreams about his Tseng. Some of you out there said that there needed to be more Tseng and I wholeheartedly agreed...I don't think this is what you meant though.

Do you know how hard it was to write him out-of-character?

*so* did I go too far? Probably. Poor Reno…

Important Side note: Added a little explanation to what type of Voodoo Cloud uses in the Voodoo chapter, for those of you who are curious.

Unimportant Side note: Yeah! It is up and ready for everyone to view... just in time for my bday… I feel old…*gag!*


	34. Survellance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Authors Note**  
I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to ZiggyPasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

Sephiroth is such a stalker! He's all serious in his information search here! He has some serious issues!

Tseng is actually Tseng this time.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **SURVEILLANCE**

* * *

Sephiroth tapped his fingers on his desk. He didn't know how long he had been doing it, but he had just become aware of the loud tapping noise he was creating. He lifted his hand from the desk and pulled at his hair, frustrated. He looked at the image on the screen that he zoomed in on and frowned.

He had started by observing some tapes of a recent AVALANCHE attack. That is what he started to do after lunch. The environmental terrorist group was getting desperate at the latest attempted attack at Reactor 5. They did not succeed with their raid.

AVALANCHE's attacks had become weaker now that they did not have strong leadership. They were now only a bunch of rabble-rousers that were now reduced to nothing more than a loud mouth standing on a soapbox. They were still trying to cause trouble for ShinRa and destroy the reactors, however.

He noted in the videos that he had been examining, that Cloud was one of the infantrymen that had been rounding up a few of the captured AVALANCHE members. He also noted that Zack had come across the scene shortly after. He had watched Zack talk to the captain of the troop, but noticed even with the grainy video, that his eyes were drawn towards Cloud. It was something that he would not have noticed if he did not know that the boy was his Second in Command's interest.

That was where he should have stopped watching. He wrote his report on the actions of the infantry and found them adequate. There was nothing more to add.

But he was curious.

He was very adept at getting around the ShinRa computer system. He knew how to get the system to do just what he wanted.

He followed Zack's movement with the cameras.

Cleanup of the mess that AVALANCHE made was organized and the crews filled the area. Once Zack seemed satisfied with the actions of the crews, Zack left the area, walking down one of the corridors. Sephiroth switched cameras effortlessly and was able to watch Zack casually walking down the halls of ShinRa headquarters. At one point Zack stopped and talked with Kunsel. It looked like Zack was trying to take off his helmet before Kunsel scurried off. Zack was laughing at the exchange as he continued on his way.

Zack then talked and looked like he was flirting with a young woman. That was brief as he moved on to another hall. Zack stopped in the middle of the hall and looked around him and said something. The camera angle didn't allow him to see where Zack was looking, but a large smile appeared on the dark-haired man's face.

Zack was then approached by a man in an infantry uniform, who promptly violated Zack's personal space.

They kissed for one minute and thirty-six seconds before they pulled apart. Zack stroked the man's face as they talked to each other for another sixty-five seconds before they kissed again. It was a brief kiss before they walked beside each other at a more respectable distance.

He switched cameras to keep them in view.

They went to the Mess Hall. The man that had been kissing Zack turned out to be Cloud when he removed his helmet. They ate for a full hour with a bunch of other men that he did not recognize. Zack sat close to Cloud and seemed to take any and every opportunity to touch him.

They parted from the Mess Hall. He noted the time. He had the cameras follow Zack. Zack did nothing too thrilling after that. He talked to a few men, grabbed some groceries and sharpened his sword. Zack returned back to his quarters at a quarter to nine.

Sephiroth set the time back to where the two had left the Mess Hall so that he could follow Cloud's movements. Cloud did nothing too thrilling after that, either. He went to the study hall with some of the other men and then returned to his bunk right at nine.

~ _did they kiss in the halls often? ~_

It was a curious question.

He scoured the videos.

He knew Zack was mentoring an infantryman. He didn't realize it was the same as his boyfriend until he watched the training room tapes. He went from the most recent tapes, where there was definitely heavy sexual tension, and it was obvious that every time that Zack pinned Cloud he wanted to do more than just hold the boy down.

As the tapes got older, he saw how clumsy Cloud was in the beginning and how much he had indeed improved.

Sephiroth was getting a time-line for when Zack started to show a sexual interest in Cloud. Cloud and Zack had been a couple for about a month.

 _~around the time that Zack brought home that black bag~_

He became obsessed with finding glimpses of them in the videos. He found one from a return from a mission. He remembered Zack coming into his office after his late return, staring at his phone with a silly look on his face, muttering something about chocobos. He watched the video of their arrival. Cloud went with the other infantry men to their barracks. The men had lazed around in the lounge, some of them dozing, before it seemed a decision was made. There was a flurry of activity in the young men as they showered and changed into civilian clothing. The group was most likely getting ready to go out to a bar. Cloud was with a group of four other men. He traced Cloud's movements and was quite alarmed when he saw Cloud talking to Reno.

~ _why was Reno talking to Zack's boyfriend?~_

It was a short conversation and after, Cloud pawed at Reno before he went on his way to catch a train to the slums with the other men.

Reno was with Legend. Sephiroth didn't know that Legend had returned. The man had been away for quite awhile. He was aware of his connection with Reno.

He set the time back and watched as Zack gave a group of new SOLDIER wannabes a pep talk.

~ _what is Reno doing?~_

He had to rewind and zoom in a couple of times to see that Reno was holding out his phone… to take a picture? Of Zack?

He furrowed his brow as he watched Reno take a couple of pictures before he seemed satisfied with what he took. Zack seemed to be aware that Reno was taking pictures of him and gave the pesky Turk a salute as he took the recruits back for their assessments.

~ _will have to take possession of Reno's phone to see what pictures he has on there~_

He then trailed Zack. He was pleased to see that he was actually doing his job. Even with his lightheartedness, Zack put the new recruits through their paces with as much vigour as he would have, but not with as much fear.

~ _I will have to take him more seriously if that is how he performs~_

He watched the video as Zack dismissed the troops and promptly the self-assured persona crumbled. His normally square shoulders slumped as he leaned against a wall. He looked tired.

Sephiroth remembered their conversation they had over a bottle of rye, and felt that he had truly burden the young man with too much. He had pushed Zack to meet the newest members of ShinRa.

~ _even making sure that his uniform was freshly pressed~_

He had just come back from a mission and he went and pushed him to perform yet another one of the duties that was supposed to be his.

~ _selfish again~_

He watched as his Second in Command pulled out his phone and made a call. The call seemed to perk him up. After the five minute and ten second conversation, Zack's spirits seemed to be regained. Zack walked out of the evaluation room looking more like his cheerful self, and went back to his quarters.

~ _will have to go through his phone records~_

Sephiroth ran the tape fast forward, staring at the empty hallway to see that around midnight a swaying Cloud let himself into Zack's apartment.

~ _rather bold~_

Bold indeed. He looked back through the surveillance archives and saw that Cloud had taken quite a few liberties entering Zack's apartment and sometimes when Zack was not present. He moved the time forward to see them both leave the room at six a.m. with a goofy look plastered across both of their faces. He followed to the elevator camera and saw them blatantly groping each other.

They were obviously getting along…swimmingly.

He scoured the tapes looking at the intimate glimpses of his Lieutenant's love life, and it bothered him. Small touches in the halls, sitting beside each other in the Mess Hall, private training sessions, and apparently, plenty of private sessions in Zack's apartment.

He also found that Cloud was having quite a few conversations with the pesky redhead. Sephiroth found that Reno and Cloud would often see each other in the Mess Hall at noon. He was curious to see Reno lying on the floor while Cloud massaged his feet or knees.

~ _what. The. HELL?~_

He could understand them talking, but an infantryman massaging a Turk's feet, in full view of everyone, and no one even gave it a second glance. The look on Reno's face while the young man massaged him told him that Reno was enjoying it way too much.

He watched the scene a few times to try to understand it. He watched it happen every time that Zack did not meet Cloud for lunch. It was some sort of touching, whether it be his legs or shoulders.

~ _was Cloud cheating on Zack?~_

He didn't find any other evidence in the tapes of that. It seemed that Cloud massaged quite a few men and no one said anything. He would have to ask Zack to explain why Cloud was touching his…

Sephiroth had stopped the tape and had taken a break at that point. It had been six in the evening by then, and the office was empty. He went down to the kitchen to see if there was coffee or something more enjoyable to drink. He had to settle for tea as he tried to push thoughts of the Turk out of his mind.

~ _you called him yours~_

He went back to flitting through the video trail, now following Reno's path for a bit. Reno spent two hours in boot camp in the morning, five hours in the Mess hall, two hours in his office and then he would return to his quarters. The days with the anomalies were… interesting.

The day that he had run into Reno in the elevator and caught him looking at him had been attention grabbing. He watched him eat lunch with Zack and Cloud in the Mess. It was rather strange to see Reno and Zack sitting with the smaller infantryman between them.

~ _almost as if they were fighting for his attention~_

He wished he could hear the conversation. Once Reno left the Mess, Sephiroth presumed that Reno had been trying to go for a smoke. Sephiroth watched how he reacted to Reno in the elevator, remembering what the Turk had said to him.

~ _should take him up on his offer~_

Sephiroth pushed the thought aside and used the cameras to follow Reno to the courtyard where he lit a cigarette even before exiting the building.

~ _deplorable~_

The scene with Reno and Rufus that occurred he found… amusing. He watched as the Turk was pulled into Rufus' clutches. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves. He let out a laugh when Dark Nation threw Reno to the ground and looked like it threatened to eat him.

 _~I will have to buy the beast a treat~_

It seemed that Rufus was as frustrated as Reno. Maybe the bastard would learn his lesson and leave his Turk alone.

He narrowed his eyes in frustration at his betraying thoughts.

~ _Reno is not my Turk~_

~ _But you want him to be~_

He rubbed his forehead to fight off the impending headache.

He went back to watching…

 _~stalking~_

…Reno on another day. He wished he knew what happened in Tseng's office, but could guess when he saw a smug Rufus leave with a confused-looking Tseng.

Rufus was up to his old tricks, that was most evident.

Then he recalled that was the day that he delivered the smokes to his office. He found a tape that showed Reno sitting at his desk and examining the pack. Reno seemed pleased.

Sephiroth felt himself smile.

He wondered what other interesting tidbits he could find, so he kept looking, but stumbled across something more interesting. He found Zack in the video trail the day that he brought home that black bag of goodies.

That was a couple of days before his supposed date with Cloud, if he remembered correctly. Sephiroth advanced the tape to the day where Cloud and Zack had the date at Monteno's and had returned to Zack's apartment. Nothing too much happened in the hall or elevator, even though there seemed to be a disagreement that resolved itself with a kiss in the lobby. The next day he watched Zack leave early in the morning in full uniform, and Cloud looking a little grumpy as he left shortly after.

~ _at least Cloud seemed to be more aware of his surroundings when he left this time~_

Sephiroth remembered all too vividly being ignored by the blond that had been wearing Zack's shirt walking down the hall. He rolled the clock back on that hall camera to that scene.

~ _utterly and completely ignored~_

He moved the video back and forth, seeing when Zack left the apartment a couple of hours before the blond encountered him in the hall.

~ _when did Cloud arrive?~_

He rolled the recording back to see Zack hauling a very drunk and passed out infantryman over his shoulder…

~ _and a hand in his back pocket!~_

…and walking to his door. He watched as Zack opened his door, adjusting his hands…

~ _placing a hand on the blond's butt~_

…so that he could get his key out and let himself in. He followed the path of cameras to see Zack dealing with a drunken scene. The camera couldn't get close enough to get all the detail of what was happening, but he got a good idea that the drunken Cloud, once placed on Zack's shoulder, started to fondle Zack's butt, and it looked like Zack slapped the infantryman's.

It took a little bit more work to get the surveillance video from the train but he got it. He got a very close and detailed look of how Cloud nestled into the SOLDIER's side, cuddling closer and… was he groping Zack on the train?

He paused the tape on this picture and looked at his clock. It was nearly midnight now. He had spent nearly twelve hours looking…

~ _stalking. Don't delude yourself~_

…surveillance videos. A low grade headache that had been threatening earlier was now pounding in his head. His finger had gone back to tapping loudly on the desk and he had to force himself to stop.

A month and a half. He believed this was around the time where Reno lost his bet to the infantryman, as well. Was this the night that Reno lost his bet?

Sephiroth knew the answer was yes.

He took one last look at the scene, trying to push past the jealousy of Zack obviously be so close to another, even if it was in a drunken stupor.

~ _you should have be_ _en_ _more forceful~_

Forceful. Zack had a little boy-toy all his own, and it did make the dark-haired man pathetically happy. Sephiroth had been happy when he had his own boy-toy to play with. Well, happier than he was now. Maybe he should take Zack's advice and take up interest in one of the infantry or a lower class SOLDIER.

~ _since Zack is out of reach~_

A new decision made, Sephiroth grinned as he shut down his computer. The only thing that kept him alone was his own self-imposed isolation.

~ _I think I will start with Reno~_

* * *

"Reno?"

"Wha?" Reno startled awake. He was having a comfortable snooze at his desk, leaning back in his leather chair, with his feet crossed on his desktop. The sounds of Tseng's voice nearly caused him to crash to the floor.

Reno looked up from his desk at the door. Tseng was standing there, looking a bit amused.

Reno had been doing a good job of avoiding him in the last couple of days…

~ _especially after that dream~_

… and he would have liked it to last a little longer. He didn't want to deal with this.

Rude was at his desk and looked up.

"A word," Tseng said, nodding a simple acknowledgement to Rude, "Please, follow me."

~ _please? Shit, was this another weird dream?~_

"Where we goin'?" he asked, not rising from the chair.

"To my office," Tseng said simply.

Reno hesitated. He had no reason to doubt that Tseng wanted to just talk to him, but after the amused tone he gave him when he returned his tie and being trapped in the office …

~ _and bedroom~_

…made him hesitant.

"Can we talk here, Boss?" he asked quickly. He looked over at Rude, hoping that he wouldn't leave. He really wanted his partner to stay. He knew that it was only a dream about Tseng hitting on him, but it had been so real.

Tseng blinked slowly. "It does not matter," Tseng said and moved into the office. Reno was almost grateful to see that he was wearing his normal plain Turk suit, with a white shirt and a tie done up snugly at his throat. "I have changed your assignment, Reno."

Reno felt his eyes grow wide and waited for Tseng to say more.

"You will no longer need to attend to the boot camp or the Mess. You will have tomorrow off, but you will be flying off to Icicle the next day to escort some troops. Your piloting skills are necessary. After that mission, Rude and yourself will be partnered together again," Tseng said, matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Reno said with a large grin on his face, but that quickly faltered.

~ _what if it is a dream?~_

"I can handle this part of my dream coming true, yo." Reno decided to make sure that he wasn't going to wake up in another mess. He pinched his arm, hard. He didn't wake up so it must be real. He gave out a loud 'whoop' and grinned at his partner and Tseng.

Tseng raised an eyebrow and tried to suppress a confused look; it looked like he was going to ask what he was doing but changed his mind with a small shake of his head. Rude's lips twitched and his brow furrowed a bit. He was going to have questions later.

"I am glad that you are pleased with this news," Tseng said, turning to Rude. "Cissnei will be on a mission with Rod. I am sure she has already told you."

Rude nodded.

Tseng's lip twitched slightly as he looked over at Rude. "I am sure you are rested enough to handle Reno again."

"Hey! There is no need for that, yo," Reno blurted and pretended to look hurt. It didn't bother him that people thought of him as a bit of…

~ _well, supreme pain in the ass~_

…troublemaker and sometimes difficult to handle. It was, after all, who he was.

Rude made a small noise and Tseng just shook his head.

"So, what is with this mission?" Reno asked as he popped a piece of gum in his mouth. There was another pack of smokes on his desk when he had arrived from the Mess. He didn't even touch them or ask Rude where they came from.

He was determined to quit even if Sephiroth was going to keep tempting him with those damn sweet Gongaga smokes. He was sure it _was_ Sephiroth that had left it on his desk again. He didn't open them to see if there was a note in them or not. He was a little scared to.

~ _don't know what he's up to~_

"Just transporting. You will get the details in your PHS before you leave," Tseng said, noticing the smokes on the desk. "I thought you were quitting?"

"I am. Gotta return those," Reno said simply. "You wan' 'em?"

Tseng shook his head, but picked up the smokes. "These are Gongagan. Don't you whine to Zack about getting these for you?"

Reno shrugged. "Well, yeah, but I'm quitting." He wasn't going to explain that going out for a smoke was not just hazardous to his respiratory health. He still had bruises from Dark Nation's teeth on his arm and didn't want any more to join it. He blew a bubble with the gum and let it pop loudly to prove his point.

"You should save them for Legend. He would appreciate them."

"Bastard is supposed to be quittin' too, yo. I bought him a whole crap load of this shitty gum, but I know he's still smokin'." Reno leaned back in his chair. "Cigs are goin' back ta the guy that got 'em for me."

"And who got them for you?" Tseng asked placing the smokes back on his desk. Rude even looked interested in the answer.

He tried - and hoped he succeeded - in looking casual about it. "Secret admirer. Tryin' to discourage him, yo." It wasn't far from the truth, so he wasn't lying to them.

He heard Rude make a small sound and saw him adjust his glasses. Tseng rolled his eyes. "There are still some things we need to discuss, Reno," Tseng said, straightening a cuff on his jacket. "We can discuss them after you return. Make sure that Mary-Beth is there before you enter my office."

~ _no way I'm going to make that mistake twice~_

"Sure thing, Boss. But I do have a question for ya."

Tseng looked at him, waiting.

"I was balancin' my bank account last night," Reno said and looked Tseng in his dark eyes. "Saw that the amount docked was a little lower than I thought, ya. Is more still gonna get taken out, or am I good, ya?"

He watched something flash through his eyes. "The appropriate amount was removed from your pay."

"Alrighty then," Reno said. He knew how much every item cost. He had even phoned Lore's to find out what had been returned. This just confirmed that Tseng had kept that rose-coloured shirt.

~ _I know how to pick out clothes~_

It creeped him out a little at first. After all, it was just a dream that he had seen him wearing it in, but at the same time he was a little proud that he was able to buy something for his stick-in-the-mud boss. He knew that he was grinning like a cat and saw that Tseng was trying to keep a straight face.

"Make sure you are rested enough to fly," Tseng said as he left.

"What's up with you?" Reno asked his partner as he looked over at the dark-skinned man. Rude had his head tilted and was giving him a curious look.

"Explain," was his simple response.

"Ya don't wanna know," Reno said simply, blowing another bubble with his gum.

"I'm sure," Rude said. "Am I going to encounter any… backlash?"

Reno chuckled. "Never know, yo."

* * *

Sephiroth crushed the smokes in his hand and gritted his teeth.

~ _doesn't he know how much trouble it took to get these?~_

He took a couple of deep breaths and tried to gather his thoughts over this development; over this new rejection.

He _did not_ accept the note that accompanied the smokes.

 _'Quit. Don't need them.'_

He _did not_ accept the rejection.

~ _again~_

He would not be turned aside.

 _~again~_

He would not be ignored.

~ _again~_

He would not be forgotten… especially by a loud mouth Turk.

* * *

 **Rabble-rousers** : A leader or speaker who stirs up the passions of the masses; a demagogue.  
 **Swimmingly:** With great ease and success

Sephiroth really doesn't like being ignored/rejected, does he? Of course, one of his best lines ever was, 'I will never be a memory' from Advent Children.  
And look at that, I wrote Tseng in character this chapter.

Authors Appreciation note: Wow. Over 400 reviews… Thanks a bunch. I know I have all frustrated you with this story and I appreciate all the feedback that I have been getting for this tale. You all are great for that; over 1500 visitors to this story in the last month. I am so pleased that it is being so well received. Thanks x 100 and I hope that I still have your interest after that last teasing/taunting/dream sequence. *smile and hugs and hoping there are no true hard feelings*  
Remember, I loves those reading those comments about how my words effect you. I like hearing if I have made you happy and -yes- even hearing that I have pissed you off, so please, keep them comming!

Authors Note regarding updates: Well, it may be a little while for the next update for this story. I have two courses that will be taking over my life for the next week. So my writing will all be technical based and nothing of interest to be posted here. Sorry. But once I am done, I will be back with a vengeance.

Extra Authors Note: Okay peoples. I started a drabbles series… because I could. It is based on the TFLN (text from last night) website, which I find way too amusing for my own good. It is not based on this story. If you are interested, it is out there. It is short little fics, 500 wordish drabbles… just something I write in my little notebook as I watch the kids practice not drowning.


	35. Moves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Authors Note**  
I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…She deserve a large thanks for fixing up the stiffness (not the good kind) that filtered in the story from those damn formal courses that I took. *lots of hugs to Ziggy* for also being supper fast with the Betaing on this one.

Reno. Zack. Sephiroth, and Cloud appear here

Time to get the pieces moving.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **MOVES  
**

* * *

"Not in shit anymore, hey?"

Reno smiled brightly at him as he sat at the control of the helicopter, his finger tapping lazily on the cyclic stick as he tilted is head back to look at him.

"Just fine and dandy now, there, Zackers. Ready to go visit some more ice and snow?"

Zack nodded his head as he unstrapped his sword; he couldn't sit down with it strapped to his back. "Glad to see that you're all chipper." Zack smiled and walked to the seat behind him and secured his sword under it .

"I am so glad to be back in my chopper, yo," Reno said. "Cloudo not goin' on this mission?"

"No," Zack said. He did not like the smirk on Reno's face when he mentioned Cloud.

"How long ya gonna be gone?"

~ _oh, don't like that at all~_

"Should only be a couple of days. Why are you asking?" Zack was aware of the tension in his voice.

"Just wondern'," the Turk said with a smirk. "Got some free time now, and I still owe him a night out on the town, yo."

Zack snorted. "Don't you mean, 'us'?"

"Shit. It would be cheaper if it was only one of ya," Reno said, snapping his gum.

"You're not getting out of the bet that easily," Zack said and clasped Reno hard on the shoulder and leaned into him. "You have to pay back that bet in full."

Reno's smile grew and his voice lowered. "Thought you two already got a whole lotta 'perks' out of that little bet."

Zack pulled away and blushed. "Yeah. Well," Zack stammered. "You still have to pay me back for that night."

"Thought I didn't have to pay ya back for that, Zackers," Reno said, blowing a bubble and snapping his gum again. "Going back on your word?"

"I should," Zack said as he bent over to adjust the straps on his sword. "You've been a real pain in the ass." He turned back to look at Reno. Reno had a strange glazed look on his face and his mouth was open. His eyes blinked a few times and he straightened himself up against his seat.

~ _what is that look about?~_

Reno cleared his throat. "You guys wouldn't know what to do if I wasn't around to amuse you, yo." Reno snapped his gum again.

"I think we can find others things to amuse ourselves," Zack said as he sat in the co-pilot seat and immediately regretted it from the sparkle in Reno's eyes and his wiggling eyebrows. "Quit with the innuendo."  
Reno laughed and Zack couldn't help but smile as well. "Ya love it and ya know it, yo."

"You certainly are chipper," Zack said, putting on the headphones.

"Are ya kiddin'? I finally got outta the stuffy buildin'. I missed my chopper, yo." Reno snapped his gum and placed a foot on the console. He slouched back in a very relaxed pose.

~ _looking very good~_

"The boot camp looks like it did you good," Zack said and couldn't help but notice the new muscle in the Turk's thighs, as his black pants were stretched tighter than normal.

"That fuckin' torture? Never gonna do it again, man."

"You better not piss off Tseng again, then. You always try his patience." Zack smirked. "It kept you relatively quiet for awhile."

Reno leaned his head back and chuckled. "Well, things are gonna be back to normal now." He watched as Reno pulled out a pack of gum from his jacket pocket and fiddled with it.

~ _that's how he normally fiddles with his smokes~_

"I guess we will be able to eat in peace in the Mess." Zack smirked.

"Not a chance," Reno said, sitting more appropriately in his seat as more SOLDIERs started to seat themselves in the back of the chopper. "Wouldn't think of deprivin' you Spike-Brains, yo."

~ _Spike-Brains?~_

"We wouldn't be deprived. We may be able to finally eat a meal in peace, instead of you whining about the food."

~ _and your flirting with Cloud~_

Zack watched the group of young SOLDIERs strap themselves in to the back of the chopper.

"You would miss me," Reno said with a large grin and a wink. "So, what's the deal with the mission? All I'm doing is moving men about."

"Jumpings," Zack said, pulling his harness to strap himself in the seat.

"Ha. Killer bunnies." Reno chuckled. "Really? What's so scary about killer bunnies, yo?"

It was Zack's turn to laugh. "Have you ever fought a Jumping?"

Reno shook his head, looking at the men that were settling in the back. "Nah. Not scared of rabbits." He had seen a Jumping before. He could stomp them, they weren't that threatening of a monster.

Zack shook his head. "Even one that is six feet tall and has large teeth and a giant club in its clawed paw?"

Reno laughed and looked at him.

~ _he thinks I'm joking~_

Reno's blue eyes grew wider. "Seriously, you're not jokin', are you?"

"The wolves don't even attack them." Zack looked back at the men in the chopper. Six sat there looking anxious and holding their rifles in ready position. "Relax, troopers," Zack said to them. "We'll be able to kick some fluffy butt soon enough."

The troopers laughed and did relax. Reno looked at him. "Take a pic of those bunnies, eh? I don't think I have seen such a large Jumping before."

"Sure thing, Red," Zack said. "Let's get this thing off the ground."

Reno straightened in his chair, and snapped his gum. "Right-o Lieutenant."

* * *

Zack joked with the men and Reno for the flight. He realized that he had been a little unfair to him. He couldn't stop Cloud from talking with everyone.

~ _as much as locking him in a closet is growing more and more appealing~_

He hadn't realized that he hadn't really talked with Reno over the last month or so. He felt a little bad that he was ignoring his friend when he heard that Legend, his mentor, was ill.

"Shit, really."

~ _lame~_

Reno shrugged his shoulders and reached into his pocket and grabbed the pack of gum that was there. "I convinced him to try quitin', too."

"Quitting? You're quitting smoking?" Zack said. "Is that working?" He pointed to the gum in his hand.

Reno snickered. "I have some good motivation to quit this time." He pulled out a new piece of gum and popped it in his mouth.

"Yeah, I guess with Legend being sick and all, it'll put things in perspective." Zack had smoked when he first joined SOLDIER. He only smoked for six months before he quit. It was damn hard to quit, but given that his physical scores were dropping and because of it, he had to quit.

"That's only part of it. Jus' tryin' to stay outta trouble for a change," Reno said, chewing with vigour.

Zack snorted. "That certainly is a change."

Reno was going to say something, but a voice came over the radio.

"Copy. Awaitin' clearance for landin', over," Reno said as he snapped his gum, turning to Zack. "Almost there, bud."

He nodded and yelled back at the troopers to prepare for landing and to disembark.

Reno landed easily and shut down the chopper. Zack bent down and picked up his sword. When he looked back, Reno had that strange look on his face again. His eyes were glazed and a small twitch on his lips.

"What are you looking at?" he asked as he straightened up and placed his sword on his back again.

"Huh? Nothin'," Reno said, blinking a few times.

~ _is he blushing?~_

Before he could ask, Reno slid out of his seat and went to the door. "Gotta check my rotors before my next transport."

Zack exited the helicopter and saw Kunsel and Sephiroth standing by some crates. Sephiroth looked over at him and gave him a nod.

"Aw shit."

He looked over to Reno who was staring at Sephiroth as well.

"Why the hell is he here?"

"Who?" Zack asked.

"Mr. Frost over there," Reno grumbled.

Zack laughed. "When did you start calling him that?"

Reno was so tense-looking. He looked over at Sephiroth who was still beside Kunsel, apparently going over some paperwork for the crates they were standing by. "Shit. I hope he isn't going to join me for the hop."

"You do something to piss him off?" Zack asked. He hadn't heard anything in the rumour mill, and he knew that Reno had been busy with the punishments that Tseng had laid out for him. He remembered him saying that he was trying to avoid Sephiroth some time ago.

"Jus' been tryin' to avoid him," Reno said, and in a low mutter, "Don't know what he's gonna do next."

"What's that?"

Reno's face turned red. "If you are gonna complain 'bout my articulation, too, ya can go stuff it," Reno blurted, poking at his chest. He muttered something under his breath. He snapped his gum a little more vigorously.

"Where the hell did that come from?"

Reno sighed. "It has been a rough month." He rubbed his forehead and looked over at Sephiroth. "I still need to catch up on my sleep." He rubbed his face and sighed heavily. "With Legend outta town, I haven't been sleepin' well."

"You are worried about him, aren't you?" Zack said, putting a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"He's my mentor," Reno said. "I dun wanna lose him." Reno's eyes grew large and he took an sharp intake of air. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry Zack. Shit. That's fuckin' insensitive of me." He averted his eyes and looked at his feet.

"It's alright," Zack said. "I – I dealt with it. You shouldn't have to go through that too."

"Shit. I'm good at stickin' my foot in my mouth lately."

"Hey. Don't worry about it, Red," Zack said putting a hand on each of his shoulders. "If you can keep Legend from smoking, that will be an accomplishment enough."

Reno looked at him. Zack didn't know how to read his look. It was a strange mixture of compassion and…

~ _longing~_

… concern.

"Shit," Reno said with a sigh. It looked like he was going to say something else but his eyes looked behind him. "Crap. He's coming over." Reno mumbled something else as Zack let go of his shoulders. He watched as his agile friend climbed the rungs along the side of the helicopter.

"Zackary."

Zack turned and saw that Sephiroth was eyeing Reno who looked overly intense as he inspected the rotor heads.

~ _what's going on with these two?~_

It was amusing to see Reno looking all flustered and Sephiroth looking slightly annoyed, which with Sephiroth, could mean anything.

"Sir."

"This should only take a day or two more. We already have procured many samples for the research department." Sephiroth said and pointed to the boxes. "I will be going to the next site to make sure that the collection goes smoothly."

"Did you leave anything for me to fight?" Zack asked seriously.

"I was only out for an hour when I was called back. I want to take care of the monsters at Site B," Sephiroth said, his eyes darting to Reno who was still intently looking at the rotor parts.

~ _is Reno who Sephiroth was mentioning?~_

He just about laughed out loud at the prospect. The two did not mesh at all, but then he didn't think that Sephiroth and Genesis went well together, either.

~ _well, he is a redhead~_

"Right-o," Zack said and tried to control the smirk that was threatening to surface.

Sephiroth raised his voice. "Once the chopper is loaded, you will transport me to Site B and then take the samples to the base. Are you paying attention, Turk?"

"Yeah, yeah. Heard ya," Reno muttered as he straddled a blade. It looked like he didn't want to come down. It was amusing. "Taxi Reno at yer service, yo."

Zack chuckled, but stifled it at the glare that Sephiroth was giving him.

"Kunsel will fill you in on the further details. I expect the chopper ready to go in one hour," Sephiroth commanded and stalked away, but not without a look at Reno who was climbing down.

"What was that about?" Zack asked.

"Huh? What?" Reno snapped his gum vigorously and Zack could see his hand reaching into the pocket that he used to keep his smokes in.

"What's the deal with you and Sephiroth?" he whispered.

"Nothin'."

"Nothing?"

"I'm tryin' to stay clear of him," Reno said. "So shut up about it, yo!"

"Uh-huh," Zack said. "I think he was eyeing you."

"Shut up," Reno said quickly and flushed.

~ _hit the target~_

Zack obeyed. He just smiled at the flustered Reno. Reno's eyes narrowed at him as he snapped his gum. "Don't ya have some Holy Grenades to round up or somethin'?"

Zack smiled, patted his friend on his back, and walked over to Kunsel.

* * *

Zack and Kunsel had organized loading the chopper and it was ready to go. Reno snapped his gum in an almost angry fashion. Sephiroth was in the chopper and already sitting in the co-pilot seat. Reno looked edgy as the last crate was loaded in.

"Isn't anyone else going for the jump?"

"Nope. Just Sephiroth," Zack said as he patted him on his shoulder. "It won't be that bad."

Reno shook his head as Kunsel exited out of the chopper and announced that everything was done, and handed Reno the manifest.

Reno grumbled something under his breath and Zack was going to start to complain about his mumbling, when Reno cleared his throat loudly. Zack felt a hard slap on his ass and jumped a bit. He turned to glare at Reno.

"Well, Zackers. Watch that cute butt of yours…"

~ _cute butt~_

"…out there with those killer bunnies. Wouldn't want ya comn' back with it all torn up by those big teeth," Reno said, making a face that bared his top teeth. He then made a clicking sound as he jumped into the chopper. "See ya."

He stood stunned for a bit at the Turk's comment. Zack felt his face absolutely burning.

His butt still burned from where the Turk had hit him. He looked over at Reno and saw him give him a two-fingered salute through the side window of the helicopter, and smirked as he took off.

He shook his head at the Turk's antics. He moved back with Kunsel and watched the chopper leave.

~ _hope he has fun with Sephiroth~_

"You know," Kunsel said, his voice thick with humour. "I agree with Reno."

"Agree with Reno? What do you agree with Reno about?" Zack said as he looked over at his friend.

"Wouldn't want to see that 'cute butt' of yours get hurt out there." Kunsel laughed and the other men joined in around him, and he felt his face start to burn again, but he joined in with laughing.

He remembered that drunken phone call that he had intercepted where he was asking Cloud about his butt.

~ _maybe Cloud wasn't the only one staring at your butt that night. It certainly would explain the looks on the helicopter~_

Kunsel slapped his ass after he made a comment that he didn't hear him make to the other men in the area. He pushed his friend harshly away and laughed as he landed ungracefully in the snowbank.

Now it was nice laughing at someone instead of himself.

But now he had to find out if that pesky Turk had been staring at his butt or not.

* * *

Joseph had a lot of gil in his hands. Cloud wondered where the blue-haired man could have that much gil. There was only one way that he knew of.

"Where'd you get that much dough?"

Joseph jumped and scrambled to grab a large scrap of paper that was on his bunk. He frantically was trying to stuff them into a pouch. "Nothin'. Absolutely nothin'. Nowhere."

"Joseph?"

Joseph flashed him a large smile and tilted his head.

~ _like that is going to work on me. Nothing beats Zack's puppy smile~_

"Are you gambling again?" Cloud grabbed the pouch from behind Joseph's back. Joseph made a small attempt to get it back.

"No! I'm not gambling." Joseph reached forward quickly and got his hand on the pouch. Cloud increased his grip so that Joseph couldn't take it back.

"Then explain the gil," Cloud said. "You know how much shit you got in last time!"

Joseph swallowed. "Well! Benot started it!"

"So it is Benot's fault you are gambling," Cloud said, pulling the leather pouch completely from Joseph's nervous fingers.

"And yours!"

"Mine? How did I get you started with gambling again?" He opened the pouch, still keeping an eye on the jittery Joseph.

"Yeah. It's your fault!" Joseph said, chewing his lip. "Can I have it back?"

"Why is it my fault?" Cloud demanded, pulling out the piece of paper from the pouch. "There is at least six hundred gil in here!"

Joseph tried to grab the paper. Cloud pulled it away and started to read the note.

~ _you've got to be kidding!~_

"Shit. You aren't going to be mad, are you?" Joseph said, giving him the most pitiful look possible.

"This list…" Cloud sputtered. He couldn't believe that he was reading it right. He looked at it, reading the names down the side and the dollar amounts beside each name.

"Well, you know, we all want to know who your sugar-daddy is and at Benot's party, you kinda disappeared. You know that Benot was looking for his," Joseph said, then cleared his throat, "birthday present, and you had already taken off."

Cloud rolled his eyes. He had blown Benot once, last year for his birthday. They had been both drunk and well, Benot was a nice-looking guy…

~ _oh man~_

 _…_ it was his birthday and they both were single. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, you got that call and got all goofy-sounding. We figured that it was your sugar-daddy. When Benot couldn't find you, we all kinda started talking about how you are seeing someone and nobody knows who it is." Joseph licked his lips nervously. "We started the pool, guessing who it was."

Cloud looked at his list and blinked at some of the names. Zack and Reno weren't a surprise, since they already teased him about them anyway. "What the hell? Sephiroth? How would that even happen?"

"You know Zack, and Zack hangs around Sephiroth. He could have introduced you two," Joseph explained.

"That is so frickin' lame," Cloud mumbled as he continued down the list. "Instructor Clark. Gag me! How did he get on the list?" Cloud shook the paper.

"He's cute in the right light," Joseph said.

"You're a total perv."

Joseph grinned and tried to take the paper away from him.

Cloud continued to the next name. "Rufus!"

"Well, he does have lots of money," Joseph said with a sigh.

"Who put down Rude? He is dating Cissnei, why the hell would he be my boyfriend if he's got a girlfriend?" Cloud was trying hard to stay angry, but the list was rather silly and he couldn't help but smile, now that he was over the initial shock.

"Cissnei is just a cover, or he could be bi."

"Tseng!" Cloud couldn't believe that he made it on the list.

"Well, you said he seemed like a nice guy after the Modeoheim mission," Joseph said with a shrug.

Cloud rolled his eyes and looked at the last name on the list. He couldn't help but laugh at it. "Do you guys think I am that much of a perv?" He laughed.

"Well, she is known to hunt down young men and treat them like toys," Joseph said.

"Scarlet!" He laughed. "I think I have seen her once, and that was when we were going through the recruiting placement."

"Cyrus thought we should throw a girl in there. He still insists that you're not gay," Joseph said. He licked his lips nervously.

"You could have picked Cissnei. At least I know her," Cloud said and folded the silly list.

"It's a long shot," Joseph said and took the pouch and note from him. Cloud let him. "So, are you going to tell me who it is?"

Cloud rolled his eyes again. "No."

"Aw, come on!" He whined and grabbed Cloud's shoulders. "You found out about the list, now ya gotta tell!"

"I see your name was under Reno," Cloud said.

"Well, yeah. I totally think you're doing him," Joseph said bouncing on his bed. "So, are you?"

Cloud shook his head. "This is why I don't tell you guys things! You are a bunch of pervs." He started to walk away.

"Hey! Cloud!" Joseph yelled, bouncing from the bed. "You can't leave me hanging like that. I need info here!"

"Maybe if you put me in for a cut, I may tell," Cloud called back over his shoulder before he went to go grab a bite to eat.

* * *

Reno couldn't help but fidget. Sephiroth usually sat in the back, even if there was cargo. It was strange to see him sitting there with the muffs and sitting in the co-pilots seat.

Sephiroth was not a social person.

Ever.

~ _thank goodness it is a short jump~_

"So did you kill any of the killer bunnies?" he asked as the silence between them was killing him. He knew that it wasn't a good idea to talk either.

"I killed Jumpings. Thirty of them before I became aware of the transport arriving," Sephiroth said.

~ _damn his voice is sexy~_

Did he notice before, or was it something that he chose to ignore? Didn't matter. He shouldn't be finding anything about the silver-haired SOLDIER nice at all. Nothing at all. He was supposed to be ignoring the man, even though it was hard to ignore the man when he was sitting right there with that great smelling hair.

~ _it's filling up the whole chopper~_

He stole a glance up over at Sephiroth and how he was sitting with his back perfectly straight and his hair swept over the shoulder that was closest to him. His face was staring forward with his usual flat look.

~ _wait a minute… he stopped killing bunnies to meet the transport… me?~_

He swallowed hard.

~ _was he lying in wait for me… is this a trap_ _?_

He hadn't moved or tried anything. Sephiroth hadn't moved or said a word or even looked in his direction, either.

He really wanted to smoke. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his pack of gum and popped a fresh piece in his mouth. He quickly returned it.

"You have really quit?" Sephiroth said, his eyes now examining him.

~ _blatantly scoping me out~_

"Decided to get rid of one of my dirty habits," he joked and regretted it.

~ _not supposed to be flirting with Mr. Frost~_

Sephiroth's eyes gave him a strange flash and his jaw tightened.

~ _is he pissed that I returned the smokes?~_

"When did you decide this?" Sephiroth's tone was brisk with anger tinting it. He really didn't want to piss off the General, especially in a small place as his helicopter.

~ _and after I got my privileges back~_

"After I discovered that it was more than the smoking that was dangerous to my health, yo."

"Oh?" Sephiroth spoke through clenched teeth.

He snapped his gum. "Yeah."

Sephiroth leaned forward in his seat and a grin crossed the normally stoic face. Reno swallowed hard and couldn't look away. He felt a hand reach into his jacket pocket. He looked down to see that Sephiroth was pulling out his gum. His other hand undid the safety harness.

"Is this working?" Sephiroth examined the gum.

Reno had to take a couple of deep breaths. "Yeah," he whispered, knowing that he was sounding rather pathetic.

Sephiroth made a small humming noise as he smelled the gum; his green eyes closed slightly before opening and focusing on him again. "Cinnamon."

 _~vanilla mixes well cinnamon~_

 _~stupid brain~_

Reno's eyes darted across the General's face before he remembered that he was supposed to be flying a chopper and turned his attention to his controls. He was going to crash if he was going to be distracted like this. It was bad enough that his stomach felt like it was full of butterflies.

A voice came over his headphones, telling him that the landing zone was not yet clear and to hold his position.

"Roger," he responded.

That was when he realized that Sephiroth was no longer sitting in the chair. He had removed the headphones and they had been tossed into his seat. He was now standing right beside him. His actual hair was flowing down his shoulder and touching his.

~ _holy shit~_

He was so close to him and he had to resist the strong temptation to reach up and stroke those strands that were touching his shoulder.

~ _wanna do more than that~_

He was frozen as Sephiroth reached down. He held his breath as more of Sephiroth's hair cascaded down his side. The hand that held his gum slid underneath his jacket…

~ _my heart is going to explode~_

 _…_ and moved it gently to the side. He looked over at the face of the General as he felt the pack of gum slide into the front pocket of his white shirt. He felt the hand smooth the fabric across his chest. His hand was warm, even through the leather gloves he wore, and there was gentleness in the touch.

~ _is this how he flirts~_

He did look amused.

"No need to land. I'll jump." Sephiroth said, straightening up and then placing the hand that had smoothed across his chest on his shoulder.

Then he thought about what he had just said.

"Jump? Are ya fuckin' nuts, yo?" he blurted.

Sephiroth patted his shoulder and moved towards the door. "It is a manageable height. Relay the message."

"But…"

"Reno. Are you questioning me?" Sephiroth was serious now.

He was about to protest further, but then thought better of it. It was not healthy to argue with Sephiroth.

"He's gonna jump in two, over," he said over the radio.

"Surely you're joking, over."

"Nope, and don't call me 'Shirley', over," Reno announced back.

He heard Sephiroth snort and open the helicopter door. He argued with the guy on the other end of the radio for a bit before blurting, "Yo! Then you tell Sephiroth what to do! Over!"

He heard Sephiroth laugh.

He looked back and saw a smile on his face.

~ _fuck~_

He looked so damn hot standing there with the coat whipping around those heavy leather boots, and his hair was swirling around him like some sort of silver dancers' ribbon. His bare chest with those leather straps…

~ _inappropriate thoughts! Inappropriate thoughts!~_

"You're fuckin' insane," Reno yelled over the wind.

Sephiroth just smiled, but there was so much more in his eyes. "I have been told that before, Reno."

The way Sephiroth said his name made a shiver run right up his spine.

~ _not the place to get aroused~_

"We have things to discuss," Sephiroth said and then was gone in a flash of silver and black leather.

Reno let go of the breath that he was holding and pressed the button to close the door. He took a moment to regain his breath.

"Received package, over," rang in his ears.

~ _package~_

"Copy, over," he responded and listened to the coordinates of the base as his fingers automatically set the instruments.

"What do we have to talk about?" he whispered. He felt very confused at Sephiroth's strange flirting and words, and how absolutely hot he looked when he smiled and laughed.

"This is just so fuckin' weird," he muttered to himself before he started off to the base camp.

* * *

Holy Grenade = Monty Python reference…I can re-enact the movie on a whim and have. I love Killer Bunnies… too obscure? I hope not!  
A stupid Airplane joke, surely you have seen the movie! Now don't call me 'Shirley'… is this one too obscure?  
A little bit of Cloud's sexual history….I know you were curious Ziggy…  
Sephiroth 'flirting' with Reno… as well as Sephiroth can flirt.  
Reno flirting with Zack and Zack taking forever to realize it. Now the pawns…er… pieces had really started to move here.  
The only thing that is missing here is a little Rufus, but alas, he is still in Kalm, isn't he?


	36. Warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Author's Note**  
I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. …now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

My goodness… this is sap! Cloud and Zack, sap and smut. Enjoy. Totally all Zack's POV

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **WARMTH**

* * *

The apartment was quiet when he got home.

He knew Cloud was waiting for him, and it was more than just from his boots that were sitting at the front door. He looked around his place and sighed heavily. He could smell garlic in the air. Cloud had mentioned that he would cook something instead of going to the Mess, and would wait for him in his apartment when he had told him that he would be home in two hours.

~ _stupid Reno~_

It was all Reno's fault that he was late. He was supposed to be the one that picked him up, but for some reason his chopper was diverted and he had to wait for a new ride. That took six more hours waiting in the snow, and he couldn't even phone Cloud to let him know because his phone decided that it didn't want to pick up any signals.

He looked to the kitchen and saw some pots in the sink. He opened the fridge and saw noodles, spaghetti sauce and garlic bread.

~ _damn it~_

He felt so guilty. Cloud cooked for him and he didn't have the courtesy of arriving on time.

~ _where was Cloud?~_

He smiled as he walked towards the bedroom and saw an adorable sight. Cloud was cuddled under the blankets, hugging his pillow. His yellow hair was messier than usual as his face was hidden in the blanket. He could see that his breathing was slow and easy, as if he was in a deep sleep.

He leaned his sword against the wall and admired Cloud.

~ _what did I do to deserve this?~_

It was midnight and the only light that was illuminating the room was from the hall, and it made the man in his bed look young and vulnerable.

~ _and damn cute~_

He moved forward and crawled onto the bed so that he was hovering over the blond, and leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead.

Cloud made a small moan and his eyelids opened slightly.

"Hey," Zack whispered.

"Hey," Cloud mumbled back. "You're late."

"Yeah. Sorry. It's Reno's fault."

"Oh." Cloud untangled himself from the pillow, as if his arms were leadened, and he reached up and wound them around Zack's neck. "You were with Reno? That's okay."

~ _what was that supposed to mean?~_

Cloud pulled him down for a gentle kiss and made him forget the thoughts of Reno. The kiss was enough to make him want to melt.

Zack hummed as Cloud sleepily looked up at him, with his slack arms resting on his shoulders and his skilful fingers fiddling with his collar. "You're wearing too many clothes to come to bed."

Zack chuckled as he moved to do as Cloud suggested. He undressed and tossed his clothes by the hamper. He watched as Cloud sleepily grabbed the pillow again and hugged it to his chest.

Zack stripped down to his underwear as he crawled beside the drowsy man. He tried to remove the pillow from Cloud's arms with some protesting, but as soon as he settled where the pillow had been, Cloud calmed. The blond wrapped around him and laid his head against his shoulder, as if he were the pillow.

"I cooked dinner."

"Sorry," Zack said, stroking the other man's hair. "You can yell at Reno."

"M'kay," Cloud mumbled, breathing against his throat, sending a sensual thrill down his spine. "You didn't get mad at him, did you?" His words were slightly slurred with sleep.

"Not yet."

Cloud grumbled something as Zack was distracted by his hand that was roaming across his belly. "Was he okay?"

"Huh?"

"Reno. He seemed distracted. I'm a bit worried," Cloud said, his fingers dancing across his belly in a slow and easy fashion.

~ _Reno should be. Sephiroth is gunning for him~_

"He'll be fine. He just got off his punishments from Tseng," Zack spoke into the yellow hair and stroked the warm shoulder.

He could feel Cloud smile. "Oh. That's good." Cloud's legs started to rub against his under the covers. He was so warm and his body felt so hard and soft at the same time. It was the most comforting feeling that he ever remembered. "You smell like snow," Cloud whispered as he inhaled deeply.

"Sorry."

"For what? Smelling like snow?" Cloud asked in a confused voice as his eyes drooped, as if he was ready to fall asleep at any moment.

"For being late. You made a meal, I should have told you not to."

"Wanted to," Cloud murmured, the hand that had been rubbing Zack's stomach moved to rest on his chest. "Do you think Reno would like some? I cooked it without mushrooms."

~ _why was that significant?~_

"Maybe."

Sleepy Cloud mumbled something against his neck that he couldn't make out.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered, stroking the blond's soft hair and watched him easily sink back into dream land. "We can talk in the morning."

~ _why is he so concerned about Reno? Does he know about Sephiroth?~_

He saw how edgy Reno was when he had to deal with Sephiroth and how the General had been eyeing the redhead. He was well aware that Cloud spent too much time talking with Reno while the redhead was on his Mess hall duties. Could Reno have told him about Sephiroth's strange behaviour?

He turned his focus back to the comforting warmth of Cloud pressed against him. He smiled as Cloud snored lightly.

~ _damn cute~_

Zack was lulled into a comforting sleep, surrounded by the overwhelming warmth that Cloud had created in the bed for them.

* * *

Zack woke up first. Cloud was still sleeping draped over him. The thick warmth still surrounded them and he didn't want to lose the soft heavy feeling. He revelled in how _comfortable_ it was.

He looked over at the clock. Sephiroth was still out in the field, and he had already had a debriefing with Lazard, so he at least had until noon. He never got to spend mornings with Cloud. He always got called out or Cloud had to return to the barracks or patrol.

~ _don't have to worry about that today~_

It was only six in the morning and he planned on using it spending time with the man nestled next to him.

He chewed his lip and moved his hand down the warm skin of the younger man, stroking his side until he rested on the curve of his hip.

Cloud didn't look like he was waking up yet. He was still in a deep and very comfortable slumber. It would be a shame to wake him up, but he had plans for the other man. He had to make up for not being home in time for the dinner that was prepared.

~ _now, how did it go?~_

He moved his hand from the hip and slipped it into Cloud's boxers, carefully wrapping his hand around the soft member and positioned his fingers just right.

Cloud let out a soft moan, but remained asleep.

Zack concentrated on moving his fingers, feeling rather clumsy as he did so.

 _~Pinky, ring, middle, index and twirling thumb~_

He felt as if his fingers were awkward in their slow movements as he massaged the cock, and tried to twirl his thumb around the head.

~ _how does Cloud make it seem so easy?~_

He squeezed a little harder and was awarded with a gasp and the warm body arching against him. Cloud threw his head back, exposing his throat. Zack took advantage and kissed the skin of his neck.

Cloud groaned, a hand moving to his arm and gripped him firmly. He tried keeping his fingers moving while he nuzzled the throat, but it was hard to concentrate on so many things at once. Cloud was awake now; Zack could feel the rapid heartbeat against his lips as he licked down to his shoulder.

Zack felt a hand weave into his hair and massage his scalp.

He tried to concentrate on his finger movements again. He wanted to keep the motion steady and even, trying not to let Cloud's touch distract him. Cloud's blue eyes were bright, but still unfocused as Zack continued the motion. He felt his hand become damp from the excited member; it encouraged him to continue his actions.

~ _must be doing something right~_

The slender body pushed against him and thrust into his hand. Cloud was making…

~ _wonderful~_

…moaning noises. Zack was getting excited by the sounds and pressing warmth of the young body, and he was going to make Cloud come first. They had all morning to play and he was well aware that Cloud was always up for more action.

Cloud's grip tightened on his arm as he made a small protesting sound. Zack smiled at the signs of Cloud already getting near to coming.

~ _must be doing it totally right~_

The wetness in his hand grew and he felt more confident in his motions from the reactions he was getting. Cloud gripped his arm tighter and buried his face into Zack's shoulder with a low groan. His hips pumped against his hand and Zack found his own breath quickening to match that of Cloud's.

He slowed the dancing of his fingers and moved to kiss Cloud. The kiss was hungry as he pushed his tongue into the blond's mouth. Cloud submissively allowed the entry. He focused on the kiss, slowing his fingers even more. Cloud's hand tightened in his hair as he plundered his mouth. He broke the kiss when he needed air to breathe. Cloud arched against him, moving his hips and letting out a passion-filled groan. Zack lost control of his finger movements and fondled Cloud in quick and sure strokes.

The throbbing warm member started to twitch and Cloud gave out a gasp. He felt his body tense and shiver. Zack felt his hand quickly become covered with a slick fluid.

~ _totally did it right~_

He smiled as he listened to Cloud's recovering pants and his blue eyes took their time to focus on his. "Morning," he whispered.

"Mornin'." Cloud's voice was thick was sated lust.

"Are you hungry?"

"You don't need to go to work?" Cloud asked, pressing his mouth in a soft kiss against his throat.

"Nope."

He liked the crooked smile on the blond's face as his arms wound around him and held him close. "You're positive about that?"

"Shouldn't have any problems," Zack whispered into the blond hair.

Cloud sighed and squirmed a bit. "I think we should have a shower first."

He had to admit that it was getting a little uncomfortable, not to mention that he was still very much aroused. Cloud's talented hand running across his belly and toying with the edges of his underwear was just making him more stimulated.

~ _how much teasing can one man do?~_

"I can take care of this in the shower." Cloud's hand patted Zack and gave him a firm squeeze.

~ _ask a silly question~_

"You better," Zack said, giving Cloud a returning squeeze before moving his hand out of the boxers. He pulled the covers off of them, regretting that his apartment was chilly and losing the warmth. "I'll make us breakfast when we are done, to make up for missing the dinner you cooked." He swung himself out of the bed, encouraging Cloud to follow.

"That sounds like a fair trade," Cloud said and clumsily moved out of the bed to stand beside where Zack waited. Cloud's eyes were full of mischief as he put his arms around his waist. Zack smiled as he looped his arm around Cloud's shoulders and escorted him to the bathroom.

"When did you get in last night? How late was it?" Cloud asked. "I remember you crawling in with me."

"You were so sleepy. It was…" Zack stopped himself from saying the offending 'c' word. He could see Cloud's eyes narrow. "…so late that I didn't want to wake you."

They walked into the bathroom. He leaned down to give him a quick kiss to stop Cloud from accusing him of almost calling him cute. He pulled him towards the shower, reaching in so he could turn on the water. He didn't want Cloud to leave his side. He was still so warm and wanted to be surrounded by it again. He pulled the man into his arms, resting his hands on the firm round bottom and held it in a sure grip. He felt Cloud reach around his waist and slip into the waist band of his underwear.

~ _I love his touch_ ~

He felt a hard snap around his waist and Zack gave a yelp. He grabbed the arms of the mischievous man and grinned. He could almost see Cloud think, 'oh shit'.

Cloud gave a startled yell as he was dragged into the shower. "Hey, I still have my boxers on!" Cloud protested with a whine as Zack pushed him under the warm shower spray and ruffled his hair.

Cloud shook his head in defiance. "Hey. Stop that."

"I thought you were going to 'take care' of me in the shower?" Zack said as he tugged on the wet band of the blond's boxers. "You just had to taunt me."

Cloud gave a snort. "You are so asking for it."

"Darn right," Zack said, grinning and pulling him in for a kiss.

Cloud chuckled against his lips. "I want pancakes after this."

"We'll see if you deserve it."

Zack almost regretted saying it because of the strange sparkle that appeared in Cloud's eyes. He didn't have much time to contemplate what trouble he was in before Cloud pushed him back against the tile wall. The gentle spray of the shower was warming them both in this position. Cloud dropped to his knees and grabbed hold of the boxers and dragged the wet cloth down to his feet.

Cloud grabbed him in a firm grip and repeated the movements that Zack had so clumsily performed on him earlier. He felt the warm mouth surround the head of his cock and his talented tongue twirl along the head.

He let out a moan.

Zack threaded a hand through Cloud's hair and smiled fondly down at him. Bright blue eyes looked up with amusement as he continued the actions.

~ _damn, he's good at this~_

Cloud's fingers slowed their dance and moved to the base of his member where he pressed down. Zack grunted and he involuntarily thrust his hips forward. Cloud took him all the way into his mouth.

"Gaia," he breathed.

Cloud made a humming sound that cause the tension in his belly to grow. He wasn't going to last long if Cloud kept this up. The blond squeezed the base tighter and moved his mouth back, keeping the suction light as he let his member fall out of his mouth.

"I'll show you taunting," Cloud said as he licked the tip of his penis as it jumped in appreciation. Zack groaned as Cloud's mouth surrounded him again. With the shower starting to steam up…

~ _more than just the action~_

…and the water beating gently down on them as Cloud slowly moved his mouth around him, he began to feel his belly tighten with a familiar pleasure-filled tension.

The hand tightened at the base of his cock and the actions slowed. A frustrated feeling replaced the near thrill of an orgasm that he was being denied.

"Cloud?" He looked down at the kneeling man.

~ _why was he slowing down?~_

His cerulean eyes rolled up at Zack and the only movement was the slight caving of his cheeks, as Cloud's tongue probed gently at the tip of his cock. Cloud's teasing caused his legs to start to shiver. Cloud started to move his head again, and Zack watched with bated breath, as his member disappeared inside of the warm wet lips.

~ _damn it~_

Cloud was purposely teasing him. He endured that mouth and fingers bringing him nearly to the brink and then slowing right down. It left him quivering and desperately pleading with the skilful, kneeling man to let him come.

~ _I let him come~_

He used one hand pressed against the wall to keep from falling and the other wound into the wet hair trying to make Cloud move faster. Even with his mouth full, Zack was pretty sure that he was laughing at him.

~ _teasing bastard!~_

"Damn it, Cloud," he whispered, barely able to get the words out as Cloud slowed down again. One of the blond's hands tickled his balls and the other squeezed his thigh.

Cloud hummed. Zack groaned, his eyes rolling back and his head smacked against the tile. "Gaia."

Cloud's blue eyes looked up at him full of amusement. Cloud pulled his head back and Zack just about fell out of his mouth. Zack moaned in protest as he tongued the head of his cock before he descended back down on him. He did that move a few more times. Zack threw his head back again, careful not to crack his head this time, and let the water and passion wash over him.

His hips moved to coordinate with Cloud's teasing mouth. His breath quickened and Zack hoped that Cloud was going to finally let him come.

~ _damn it~_

"Please," he whimpered, not sure if Cloud could hear him over the water raining down on them. He gripped the back of Cloud's head and thrust his hips forward. Cloud pulled back again and Zack could feel him chuckle.

~ _oh that felt good~_

Thankfully, Cloud sped up his movements as the tension built to an unbearable level. He doubted he could put up with any more teasing and was grateful when it appeared that Cloud was finally going to allow him to come. He released into Cloud's mouth with an involuntary shout. He was grateful that his legs were holding up as Cloud slid up his body to kiss him.

"You're a fucking tease," Zack panted.

Cloud smiled. "You like it." He furrowed his brow. "You broke the tile."

Zack rubbed his head where he had smacked it against the wall. He didn't think he had hit it that hard. "Yeah, well. I should make you pay for it since it's your fault."

"Pfft. Your fault for having such a hard head," Cloud said with a large grin as he reached for the shampoo.

* * *

"But I want pancakes." Cloud stood in the kitchen wearing a pair of Zack's sweatpants which were too large on him and were slipping off his hips as he stood there pouting about the lack of what he wanted for breakfast.

"I don't have any flour or mix. I do have bread and jam," Zack said, sheepishly looking over to the young man as he held up a loaf of bread.

Cloud crossed his arms and frowned. "I think I deserve pancakes. After all, you stood me up last night without even a phone call, after I cooked a meal. And you can't have forgotten what just went on in the shower. I want pancakes."

"I didn't mean to," Zack protested. "I told you it was Reno's fault."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "How did Reno prevent you from calling?"

"You don't remember what I said to you last night, do you?" Zack grinned, still dangling the loaf of bread in his hands. "You were so out of it when I came home. I told you that Reno was supposed to be my ride and he was most likely gallivanting somewhere, making a nuisance of himself."

Cloud gave a sigh. "He's back in his chopper again. Does that mean he finally got out of pulling Mess duty?" He leaned against the counter and looked at the jam that he had pulled out. Strawberry had always been his favourite.

~ _almost looks disappointed~_

"Well, if he keeps up his antics it won't be long before he gets on Tseng's bad side again," Zack said, remembering how Reno had been responding to Sephiroth, and even more amused by how Sephiroth had reacted around Reno. "You said that you were worried about him last night."

"I did?" Cloud blinked.

"Yeah. You were so sleepy though, you must not remember asking. Did he tell you something?" Zack asked.

"No. I can't get anything out of him." Cloud sighed. "I know there was something bothering him, but he just won't talk about it." He had to tug on the waistband of his sweatpants again. "Did he tell you anything?"

Zack nodded. "We talked a bit. I know his mentor, Legend, is sick and they are both trying to quit smoking. Maybe that has something to do with it?" Zack offered as a response. He knew that was only part of it, but didn't think it was his place to bring up Sephiroth.

"I told the idiot to come and talk to me and he goes off sulking on his own. He is going to burn himself out!" Cloud said angrily as he twirled the jar on the counter. "He can be completely oblivious at times."

"I agree there."

"Well, do you know if he made it back yet?" Cloud asked. "I want to make sure that he is okay."

Zack shrugged. He had no intention of phoning him to find out. He would ream out the redhead for making Cloud upset and worry about him at a later date.

~ _cutting into our time together~_

"Why don't we hunt him down after breakfast?" Zack said, shaking the bag of bread.

Cloud twisted his lips slightly into a pout. "But I still want pancakes."

"I make some mean toast."

Cloud couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. "You will have to make sure that you have stuff to make pancakes next time."

"Of course," Zack said as he pulled out some bread and moved over to his toaster. "Only the finest toast for you."

Cloud snorted. "I guess that is a compliment."

"Of course," he responded with a wide grin as he went to retrieve some plates and a knife.

Cloud opened the jar and got some jam on his hand. He watched as Cloud brought his fingers to his mouth and sucked the sticky jam off.

~ _was that on purpose? Shit, that is so hot!~_

Cloud found some more jam on a finger and started to suck it. Zack darted forward and grabbed Cloud's hand, moving his fingers to his own lips. Cloud tasted of clean skin and strawberry jam. Cloud's breath quickened and his eyes grew wide.

 _~It was Cloud's fault for getting jam on his fingers~_

"Yummy," Zack said as he took two of Cloud's fingers in his mouth.

~ _strawberry and Cloud. I think it is my new favourite combination~_

He could see a familiar flush start to form on Cloud's cheeks. He heard the toast pop out of the toaster, but it was not what he was concerned with now.

Cloud protested when Zack scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder as he carried him into the bedroom. He gleefully tossed the other man onto the bed.

"I can walk!"

"Pfft. This is more fun," Zack said as he bounced beside Cloud. The blond's sweatpants were dangerously low and showing off the tantalizing lines of muscle leading down to his groin.

~ _should go get the jam, but it would be so messy~_

Zack didn't feel the need to rush as they took their time exploring each other. Zack allowed his hands to roam over every part of Cloud's body and learn all the spots that made the blond gasp. He let his lips find the tastiest parts to nibble on and he let the soft pleasure-filled sounds that filled the room guide his actions.

~ _finally be able to tease Cloud without it being turned against me~_

Once he got his fill of stroking and fondling the now shivering blond, he turned Cloud so that his back was pressed against his body. He had got the lube out and was reaching down and was stroking his fingers slowly inside of Cloud. Cloud's twisting as he stretched him, and the wiggling was testing his resolve. Zack had to focus on his breathing to make sure he could pay back his teasing friend for the treatment he got in the shower.

Cloud was trying to make him move quicker as he pushed his ass against the fingers. He had the condom package already open, holding it in anticipation of the next act, ready to hand it over.

He kept his other arm firmly wrapped around the blond's chest, limiting the movement of his arms. Zack was pleased with the frustrated sounds as he held the wiggling warm body tight.

The small cries and soft whimpers coming from Cloud were becoming more urgent; needier.

 _~and it is absolutely wonderful~_

Cloud was getting impatient…

~ _and so was he~_

… but Zack was determined to make this last. He kept his fingers pressed inside, nibbling at the tasty neck…

~ _should get the jam. Can do laundry later~_

… and holding Cloud's hands at bay.

"Damn it, Zack!" Cloud blurted and twisted harder against him. "Are you going to take all morning teasing me?"

"I could," he whispered, tightening his grip around his chest as he nibbled on Cloud's ear. "I wanted to see how long it would take before you got all flustered." He stopped his fingers from moving inside of Cloud and gained a frustrated growl from the younger man. "I need that condom now."

Cloud's breathing quickened as he handed it over. Zack had to release his hold and pull his fingers out to place it on. "Now, stay still," Zack said as Cloud moved to lay on his back. "I want to spoon you."

Cloud moved back to lying on his side, and had to look over his shoulder at Zack. His cheeks were flushed and his breathing quickened again. Once ready, he got back into position, wrapping both his arms around Cloud and pressed against the eager bottom, so that they were spooning each other tightly. He pushed a leg between Cloud's and rubbed himself against the warm entrance. Zack made sure that he gripped Cloud's arms so that they were pinned tightly against his chest.

 _~don't want him touching himself~_

He entered slowly, enjoying the slow anticipation of being surrounded by Cloud. He felt Cloud trying to pull his arms free, but Zack kept himself wrapped around the man tightly. He was going to take his time and if Cloud's hands were free, there was no way that he could take it slow.

Cloud pushed back against him.

~ _damn his agile hips~_

"Easy," he whispered.

Cloud groaned and pushed back again.

"Damn it, Cloud," he panted as he started to move his hips, keeping his movements slow and steady, despite the attempts of Cloud to speed things up. Cloud tried to free his arms but Zack kept them pressed at his side. That little struggle allowed him to last longer before he couldn't resist speeding up his pace. He shifted his position slightly, so that he was thrusting directly on the sensitive inner bundle of nerves. The change was greeted with a sharp gasp.

He moved his grip on Cloud's arms so he could reach down to Cloud's hard member and gripped it firmly and increased his pace.

Cloud's back arched and he let out a howl…

~ _actual howl, damn hot~_

 _…_ as he came.

It only took another thrust before he followed.

They lay like that, panting and gripping each other tight for awhile before the discomfort of the arm that was under Cloud made him move and clean them up.

~ _could have used the jam, have to change the sheets anyway~_

He curled gladly back into the bed and Cloud's sleepy and content eyes looked at him.

~ _damn it~_

That look…it was so warm.

They lay together in comfortable silence until a phone rang. Zack startled at the sound, as he did not realize that they had fallen asleep. They both groaned at the sound. It was Zack's. He reached over to the end table and looked at the number. It was Kunsel. He was tempted to let it drop back down but looked at the time.

"Shit, it's after one," Zack blurted. That meant he and Cloud were late.

 _~they truly had fucked away the morning~_

He heard Cloud let out a string of curses as his naked body went flying toward his clothes. "I had to be at Sector Four - ten minutes ago!" Cloud frantically tried to get his clothes on.

Zack opened his phone to answer Kunsel. "Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"I just woke up," Zack said as he watched the blond trying to put his shirt and pants on at the same time.

"Lazard will have your ass! He is edgy enough. You need to get your butt down here and a half-hour ago!" Kunsel snapped into the phone.

"Yeah, yeah," Zack said. "I'll be there."

He looked over at Cloud and saw that he was dressed but still muttering a series of curses with a flushed face. "Man, the guys are going to bug me about this," he muttered as he rushed forward and Zack was given a quick kiss. "Training tomorrow?"

"Yep," Zack said and only got to enjoy the smile for a little longer as Cloud nearly sprinted out of his apartment.

He sighed at his own naked state and started to get dressed. As he put on his underwear, he realized that Cloud was now running around _commando._ Cloud's boxers were still sitting on the floor in the bathroom, soaked from being thrown in the shower.

~ _man, I'm going to be thinking about that all day~_

He finished dressing and left the apartment's warmth. He wished the morning could have lasted longer.

As he got in the elevator his stomach growled.

He chuckled. They had never got around to eating anything for breakfast.

* * *

Didn't I say that it was full of sap? Sweetness and then smut came along… geez, I'm a perv.

Sleepy Strife Struggles and Stumbles out of Slumber…*snerk* I think I left this as a review for _someone_ out there?

I gotta thank all you people who review. I know I am playing with your minds, with the responses. I have been accused of being evil, but it is the subtle evil, where mind games are played… and I seem to be excelling at that and enjoying the responses I get immensely… I will make a doctor appointment about this sadist streak after I am done writing the story… So, my puppets…

… I'm sure you are all wondering why Reno didn't pick up Zack like he was originally assigned…hmmm?

 **AND IMPORTANT PICTURE NOTIFICATION: TOTAL SQUEEAGE**

Go to:

http: / animama .deviantart .com /art / Cloud-and-chocobos-154672194

to view the photograph Zack took of Cloud at the end of Chapter 30.

'My Chocobo'

If you are to lazy to get rid of the spaces, the link is on my profile page… and prepare to brush your teeth after, because it is the most ultimate glorious and sickening sweet picture you will see in awhile.


	37. Junon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi… if you don't like that…don't read.

 **Pre-Author** **'** **s Note**  
I plan on having a lot of fun with this fic and bringing in some others into the mix. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…thanks and more thanks…

Reno's reason for not picking up Zack…I think it was a good one.

AND a new POV… Tseng, as brief as it is.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own, FF fandom just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

JUNON

* * *

Reno was grateful for a helicopter full of samples. It meant that he didn't have to talk to anyone, and that was wonderful. He was also thankful that he was going home. He didn't want to lie in wait of a Sephiroth ambush, and he was looking forward to crawling into his own bed.

~ _even if I'll be alone~_

He frowned heavily at that, but didn't have much time to contemplate it as a voice came over the radio demanding his attention.

"Yo, Reno here, over."

"Requesting current location. Over," the voice over the radio crackled.

Reno gave the coordinates and tapped his finger impatiently as he waited for word back. "How much cargo room is available? Over."

"I can carry another tonne. Over," he stated.

"Do you have room for passengers?"

"Uh, yeah. Three at most, but it won't be comfortable, yo. Over." He looked at the back. The three seats would be pretty cramped with the boxes arranged the way they were.

"Change of coordinates. Urgent transport of personnel from Junon to Midgar. What would be your ETA?"

He quickly calculated it. "Twenty, over."

There was some buzzing on the line before it was confirmed. He was heading to pick up some pricks in Junon.

~ _damn it. I'm probably expected to entertain them as well~_

* * *

Upon landing in Junon and watching the ground crew do all the checks, he started to pine for a cigarette. He only had one piece of gum left, and his mind was turning back towards how Sephiroth had settled the pack of gum into his pocket and the leather hand that smoothed his shirt…

~ _and how fuckin' hot he looked with the wind blowing his hair around like that~_

He reached in and grabbed his last piece of gum. One of the men on the crew was having a cigarette as he worked. Reno almost asked him for one, but refrained.

~ _cigarettes cause too much trouble~_

"Yo," he called out to get the attention of the crew. "Do any of ya know who the prick is that is supposed ta be arrivin'?"

The young man with the cigarette shrugged. "Don't know, but there's the limo."

He looked at the long black limo drive in. "Wonderful," he moaned. He hoped it wasn't some of those fat-cat executives. He was beginning to think that he should have lied and said that he was stocked full.

~ _I could be in the Mess hall complaining about my shoulder or something to Cloud~_

Reno really wanted to pull the smoke out of the young mechanic's mouth and take a drag off of it. The gum was not cutting it today.

The limo stood there for a bit and whatever obnoxious asshole that he was supposed to take with him to Midgar was taking his sweet-ass time.

He snapped his gum, irritated. "Are we refuelled, yo?" he asked.

The guy with the smoke, inhaled sharply and nodded his head. Another added. "Just a few more checks and you'll be ready ta fly."

Now he just had to wait for the pompous prick to get out of the damn limo so he could get out of there.

The door of the limo finally opened. He turned to look at who he was most likely going to be insulting and ending up back in shit with Tseng.

~ _fuck~_

The thought of jumping in the chopper and just leaving sounded really good right now, but he was frozen in his spot. He wasn't sure, but it looked like Rufus. The hair was like Rufus', but the clothes were nothing like what he normally wore. The guy was dressed in a pair of light blue jeans…

~ _very tight~_

…and a simple white short-sleeved golf shirt. The guy was even wearing sandals on his feet, which was pretty laid back for some bigwig. Of course, he wasn't positive that it was the brat until a dark shadow bounced out of the limo and sat by the feet of the man in question.

The casually dressed man was still talking to someone on the inside, but it definitely was Rufus and the damn shadow with him was Dark Nation.

~ _please let Legend be in there too~_

It was Dark Nation that spotted him first. She uncurled herself from around the feet of her master and glared right at him.

~ _this is goin' to be fuckin' great~_

His stomach filled with dread as Dark Nation curled her lips up baring her teeth. Rufus was still chatting, and he could hear his light laughter.

~ _goin'_ _ta_ _eat me as a snack~_

Rufus did have his monster on a leash, but that did not stop Dark Nation from running right at him. He saw Rufus turn with an alarmed look and a yell, but that was the last thing he registered before a large black body was on top of him. He had managed to pull out his EMR, but the cursed creature was quick. He got the rod up and used it to protect his arm, which seemed to be the target, and that large jaw was around his EMR. His finger was itching to press the trigger to give the stupid thing a shock.

"Get off me ya damn mutt," he growled and pushed. Dark Nation shook her head and pressed harder.

Her teeth were denting his weapon.

"Nation!"

The monster did not heed her master. He felt a claw on his chest and it was starting to dig in.

~ _screw it~_

He pressed the button on the rod and immediately regretted it.

~ _first rule of using an EMR - don't shock what you're touching~_

Dark Nation made a sharp yelping sound and fell off him. He was shaking from the shock and gasping for air. Reno blinked his eyes frantically as he tried to get them to focus. There was a lot of yelling going on.

~ _I hope I killed the pet monster~_

He sat up and glared at Rufus who was holding the beast's head in his lap and petting it as she quivered. Dark Nation's tongue lolled out and she was panting and whining. The mechanics were standing around with their mouths hanging open. Beside Rufus stood a tall thin man in a long blue coat who was looking down at the boss and beast with a concerned look. He knelt beside the monster and ran his hand over her head. There was a soft green glow that engulfed the mutt before the man made a diagnosis. "It was a mild shock. She'll be fine."

"Yo, anyone care that thing just pounced me?" Reno grumbled.

The man with the blue coat looked at him. Reno recognized him now. It was Reeve, the guy that was always trying to fix things up in the slums and spend money on environmental stuff. He didn't have much to do with the bearded man, but was aware of his reputation of talking people into a slumber during meetings.

Dark Nation lifted her head and growled.

~ _thing was just playing it up!~_

Reeve snorted. "See, she's fine." Reeve moved to kneel beside him. Reno saw the bangle that had various coloured materia nestled in it. He felt the tingle of a cure run through him. "Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks," he muttered and stood. He didn't like the amused look on the man's face.

~ _I hate bigwigs~_

Rufus' grey eyes turned to him and they weren't as cold as he suspected that they would be, considering he had just shocked his pet. Even if the damn thing did deserve it for charging at him and taking him down. It didn't look good to be taken out by a monster. He was a Turk, and he wasn't supposed to be that easy to take down, least of all by a pet.

Rufus was standing now, still stroking the head of the monster and looking at him.

"Well, it seems that Nation still doesn't like you," Rufus said, amusement thick in his tone. The monster grumbled at the sound of her master's voice. "You are lucky that I sedate her when we fly."

"Should've sedated her before ya got here, yo," he grumbled.

Reeve gave a low chuckle. "Well, sir. I believe we both should be about our way. Shall we get her aboard before I cast Sleep, so she will not attack the pilot?"

Reno bristled and twirled his rod. "I don't wanna deal with that _thing_ on my chopper, yo. Get a muzzle for it!"

Rufus looked offended. "Sleep will keep her just fine," he said firmly. Dark Nation seemed to know what was being said and whimpered. "She will _not_ be muzzled."

Reno took a deep breath, smelling the cigarette smoke of the mechanic, and now was desperately craving one. He glared at both the men and the monster. "If we crash, it's your damn fault." He couldn't look at the two men anymore and he was not going to help get that monster in the hold.

He climbed into his seat and watched as Rufus and Reeve climbed in. He noted that Rufus frowned at how crowded it was.

~ _that's what the pompous ass gets for waylaying me~_

Dark Nation nervously looked about and gave him the evil eye. He sparked his rod to give the thing a warning. Rufus glared at him for that, but Reno was beyond caring at the moment. He had been attacked by her for the second time and he did not appreciate that she seemed to have more value than him.

Dark Nation made herself comfortable on a crate, circling a couple of times before settling down. That was when Reeve cast a Sleep spell.

~ _who woulda thought an office rat would be good with magic?~_

"Well, sir, I will be heading back. I will be returning to Midgar in a week's time, and we can discuss the issues of the sector supports," Reeve said.

Reno thought his heart was going to stop.

~ _that meant…~_

"Yo! You're not comin'?" He turned sharply and looked at the two men. If Reeve wasn't coming with them, that meant that he was going to be transporting Rufus.

 _~shit, I don't want to be just transporting Rufus. That would mean that I would be in the helicopter - alone - with Rufus. I dun wanna be trapped by the boss again. I d_   
_un_   
_wanna be alone with the brat~_

He must have looked panicked because Rufus' eyes almost sparkled with amusement.

Then there was the other question of where was Legend. Legend was supposed to be assigned to watch the brat. Where was the boss' bodyguard? He was supposed to have a Turk with him at all times when he wasn't in Midgar.

Reeve left the helicopter, much more gracefully that a chair jockey should, leaving him alone with Rufus.

He stared at the man that remained behind.

~ _shit~_

He was sitting in a seat beside the crate that the monster was sleeping on, rubbing the thing's ears as if she were a puppy.

"Are we waitin' for anyone else, yo?" he asked hopefully.

"No. It is just me," Rufus said with a twisted smile playing across his lips. "My father urgently wanted me back in Midgar."

Reno swallowed hard. He doubted that the brat's father wanted him back. The lack of love between the two was well known.

"Are you going to sit there or are we going to head home? The spell does have a time limit for its effectiveness," Rufus said as he stroked the neck of Dark Nation.

"What 'bout Legend? Where's he? Where's your protection?" It was strange to see Rufus sitting in such snug casual clothes. His normal bulky suit did not do his body justice. Reno examined the boss who was now leaning casually in the cramped seat, but looking like it was something that he had planned all along.

~ _and probably did~_

"The rearrangement of those that are assigned to me was quite difficult," Rufus said, crossing his legs. "I had Legend accompany Cissnei instead of Rude for another mission. I knew you normally travelled with him, but it seemed I was mistaken on how Tseng had arranged you all. It was quite a bother."

~ _bother~_

Reno looked back at the brat.

~ _Nothin' is ever an accident with him~_

"Well, I suggest that we start, unless you want Dark Nation to wake during the flight. She doesn't particularly like flying," Rufus spoke in low tones and with slow blinking eyes.

Reno turned back to the controls with a tightening in his belly, not just from nervousness, but how the brat's voice and sexy casual clothes affected him.

 _~he can't do too much damage with me flyin' the chopper~_

Reno was in his element now. He was at the controls of the helicopter and he was the one that was in power.

~ _why am I shaking then?~_

Rufus couldn't do anything to him here while he was working. He was strapped in the back, still stroking the head of his pet. Rufus may have planned for him to be his escort, but he could do nothing about it.

~ _hopefully~_

Reno focused on the chopper, even though he could feel those grey eyes burning in the back of his skull and found it extremely distracting knowing who was in the back seat. He went through the start up procedures and was planning on making it to Midgar in record time.

He was soon in his pilot mode as routine took over his thoughts, and he was able to block out the burning sensation that he felt boring into his shoulder blades. He was going to concentrate on flying as if he had just got out of training.

He was not going to think about the sexy passenger sitting behind him.

He was not going to think that Rufus had set this all up.

He was going to pretend that he hadn't been attacked by his pet.

He was going to push the chopper to its limit before Rufus started to try something funny from the back seat.

~ _shit, too late_ ~

He heard a movement behind him and the click of a seatbelt being removed. He wanted to turn and run, but he had nowhere to go as he felt his headphone get ripped unceremoniously off his head and thrown to the other chair.

~ _totally trapped~_

He felt warm arms curl around him from behind; one hand resting across his chest and moving sensually down to his belly. Rufus' other hand was pressing briefly against his shoulder, and then played across his neck to rest in his hair. A solid chin pressed against his shoulder and he could feel his warm breath gently playing along his ear as Rufus leaned into him.

"Sir," he whimpered. He hated how he sounded and how his body was reacting to his touch. The hand on his belly was so warm and his skin was burning. Again, he was in a situation where he couldn't touch, and the boss had complete control.

His hand tensed and pulled back on the cyclic stick. The nose of the helicopter pitched.

"Ah-ah," Rufus breathed into his ear. "You better get it under control or else you will have to explain why the Vice-President was tossed around a helicopter by a careless Turk."

He levelled off the helicopter again, but his breathing was hard to control. He was nearly panting as Rufus' hand ran over his belly and the other played in his hair, tugging at his red strands gently.

Rufus made a humming sound and he felt lips against his neck.

~ _fuck~_

"This isn't a good idea, yo," he said, but he found himself moving so that Rufus had more access to his throat. He let his eyes dart around his instruments to make sure that he hadn't shifted course too far, and that there was nothing on the radar as he felt teeth pull at his flesh.

Rufus chuckled. "No, probably isn't, but you were supposed to be in Kalm. I was very disappointed that I was escorted by that prude mentor of yours." His teeth pulled a little harder on his skin and Reno couldn't help but moan in response. "So I will have to take what little time that I have."

"Yo, man. You're distractin' me," Reno said, trying to keep his eyes from closing completely and to keep them on the control panel. Rufus' hand was caressing him through his shirt as if he wasn't dressed at all. The man was absolutely amazing with his hands.

"That is the point," Rufus said, taking Reno's earlobe into his mouth and tugging gently.

~ _fuck~_

He moved to look at Rufus and protest, but was surprised as Rufus' mouth latched onto his. There was nothing gentle about the kiss. Rufus was aggressive as he harshly kissed him. He fought against the kiss, but the hand in his hair firmed and held his head in place. A warm tongue forced its way into his mouth. Rufus made a very pleased noise as he explored his mouth until Reno thought he was going to suffocate.

His hand moved the cyclic stick, causing the helicopter to pitch to the right. He was forced to level out and look back at the controls to make sure that they weren't going to fly into anything. Rufus' hand was still stroking his belly as he let out a low melodious chuckle when he pulled out of the kiss.

He watched as Rufus licked his lips. "You taste divine. Cinnamon is a much better flavour than those cigarettes. I approve."

~ _even chewing gum is dangerous to my health~_

Before he could protest, a hungry mouth and teeth were against his lips again. The brat could kiss, he would admit, but it was hard to enjoy the kisses when he was supposed to be concentrating on flying. His hand moved on the stick and the chopper shook. It did not seem to faze Rufus as he was jostled slightly, as it only seemed to tighten his grip in his hair, and he pushed his tongue further in his mouth. The hand on his stomach tugged at the hem on the button of his pants and tugged.

His pants were already uncomfortably tight and the tugging just brought that more to his attention.

Rufus pulled out of the kiss. "We are drifting, Reno. You need to get us back on course."

Reno snapped his attention to the controls and saw that they were indeed drifting. He reset the course so that they were heading to Midgar. Rufus was resting his chin on his shoulder again and made an amused humming sound.

"Sir?" he whispered. He looked down and saw those long fingers delving into the hem of his pants. He could feel him stroking the hairs around his groin and nimbly teasing him.

"Your mouth protests, but your body tells me that you want this," Rufus whispered, the hand in his hair tugging to ensure that his neck was exposed to him. Reno moaned as he felt that mouth sucking and nibbling on his sensitive throat. "You have such a tasty neck, my swan."

"Let me – uh – put –ah – on the autopilot," Reno said, trying to move forward to flip the switch that would allow him to free his hands and respond to the teasing.

The hand in his hair tugged to keep him where he was. "No. I like you like this." Rufus assaulted his ear with his teeth again. The hand that went to reach for the small little switch fell back to his side.

He whimpered. It was just a short reach to the switch, if he could move forward instead of being held back in the seat by warm…

He felt the pressure in his pants lessen as he felt the button pop. He involuntarily moved the cyclic stick again, causing the chopper to yaw to the left. Rufus chuckled but didn't stop his hand from delving into his underwear to smooth the hairs around the base of his arousal.

Rufus' sensual voice whispered in his ear. "Just think of all the things that we could have done if you had come to Kalm. We wouldn't have been restrained by time and in the confines of a helicopter. We would have been in the chalet that we have there. I even had the bed fitted with some smooth, silky sheets for you to writhe on." Rufus spoke those last words slowly and licked his ear for emphasis.

Reno leaned back to ease the tension of the fingers that were in his hair, and to alleviate the coils of tension that were growing in his belly as those fingers moved in his underwear. Teasing him! Rufus was not quite touching his swollen cock, but tracing his fingers around the base and stroking his pubic hair.

~ _so close, yet so far~_

"I wanted to see the rest of those markings," Rufus whispered and moved so that he was kissing Reno's neck. The brat's fingers tightened in his hair as he was nibbling on his throat. "I wanted to run my tongue over every line and curve that was drawn there. I wanted to taste every part of you."

Reno twisted in his seat at the pleasurable assault. He really wanted to reach that autopilot switch so that he could at least touch the boss. It wasn't fair that he was always turned into the submissive one at a simple touch and smooth words. He didn't know when he turned into such a subservient one. He was an elite Turk. But Rufus effectively made him whimper and want to beg to let him do more.

~ _or have more done to you~_

"We could have had so much fun together." Rufus bit the fleshy muscle on his neck. It caused Reno to let out a startled yell and he tried to pull away. The helicopter jerked as he clenched the cyclic stick tightly in his hand. He had to focus on the chopper as the grip in his hair increased and the hand around the base of his member gripped him firmly. Rufus was already kissing the bite mark as if he were apologizing for it. Rufus made that pleasing humming sound as he did.

"Gonna crash if you keep this up, yo," he weakly said. His whole body was on fire and he wanted more than just the teasing touches and nibbling lips. Rufus' words were setting him on fire and he was wishing that he had gone to Kalm after all.

"I have more trust in your pilot skills."

~ _Glad he does. I'm almost willin' to let go of the stick and get a good feel in before we crash~_

"You are still on course," Rufus announced. "Keep it steady, Reno. I really don't want to be thrown about."

"Then ya gotta quit toyin' with me, Boss." Reno gasped and thrust his hips forward. Rufus' hand was now grasping him fully and gave him a little tug.

Rufus gave a chuckle and nibbled his ear. "I am rather enjoying myself." Reno felt the tension building in his belly at the humiliating treatment and his face flushing. His breathing became shallow as he tilted his head back.

"Fuck."

"Oh, I don't think we have time for that," Rufus whispered. The hand in Reno's fiery hair tugged his head to the side again. The one on his member stopped its stroking, but still squeezed him firmly. Reno couldn't help but give sharp and shallow breaths. His hand shook and so did the chopper before he gained control again. Rufus chuckled and proceeded to work his mouth along his neck, sucking and nibbling so wonderfully that it was hard not to let his eyes roll back in his head.

"You taste wonderfully sweet." Rufus nibbled his neck and jaw between words. "I was so looking forward to dining on you, tasting every part of you. I had days to fill and you were supposed to be there to fill them." Rufus removed his hand from his cock but still stroked the hair around it. Reno involuntarily moved his hips, trying to get that warm hand to grab him again.

Reno tried to talk but all he ended up doing was letting out a short moan with every exhale of his quick breaths.

Rufus continued talking and nibbling at his jaw and throat. "Did I mention the sheets I had purchased for us to use? I believe that I did. Yes, it was a shame to curl up in those silky black sheets alone. I bought black ones, so that your skin would be even more luminous against them. I so wanted to see you laying on them as I..." Rufus trailed off and moved his head so that they were kissing. "...had my way with you," he finished as he pulled away.

Reno's hand slipped again. The chopper jostled sharply. He quickly got it under control and stared at the console to make sure that they hadn't moved off course. Rufus chuckled in his ear. "I had the sheets packed to make sure that they were brought home. It was a shame that they were not used as I intended."

~ _used as intended~_

Reno felt lightheaded and forced his breathing to ease a little. He was going to hyperventilate if he kept breathing shallowly. It was a little easier now that Rufus wasn't stroking him, even though he was still painfully hard and aroused.

"Always try for later," Reno managed to get out.

"Oh, that is for certain," Rufus said with authority thick in his voice. He pulled the hand out of his underwear and Reno moaned in protest as the damp hand ran over his belly. "But our time is short." Rufus felt the grip lessen on his hair, with the arms no longer around him. He was about to protest being left in such a condition, when Rufus pointed to the headphones. "I believe that they are trying to contact you."

Then Rufus was gone. No longer tugging at his hair or touching his stomach. He was handing him the headphones and was smiling at him. Standing slightly stooped in those adorable casual clothes, his hair falling to hide one of his amused grey eyes. But that damn smile - amused and smug - displayed on swollen lips.

~ _I really hope those jean are uncomfortable~_

He grabbed the headphones out of his hand and thrust them back on his head. "Yeah, yeah. Hear ya. What do ya want?"

"Confirming occupancy of Vice-President Rufus on the chopper, sir. Over."

"Yeah. Br… Boss is here, yo."

They gave him the landing pad number he was supposed to go to and he mumbled his response back. Twice, as it seemed they didn't hear him the first time.

~ _people need to get their ears checked~_

He turned to see that Rufus had taken his seat again. He was sitting there like nothing happened and was stroking the head of his monstrous pet. He was already acting like he hadn't spent the whole helicopter ride playing with his body and mind. He was still so aroused that Reno doubted he could do the zipper of his pants back up without injuring himself.

"Such a short ride. What a shame," Rufus said. He didn't even look fazed. He still had the aura of being a pompous, self-righteous, bigwig even in those damn casual clothes. "You better make yourself somewhat presentable before we land. My father will most likely be waiting for me upon landing."

~ _totally just mind_ _-_ _fucked me~_

He arranged himself carefully as he fastened his pants. He hoped that he would be calmed down enough when they landed. He didn't want to walk out of the chopper with a raging and painful boner. He slumped in his chair and glared at the man that did this to him.

~ _black silk sheets and white suit would be fuckin' hot~_

His cock twitched at the thought. He had to calm down, and thinking about Rufus lying on black silk sheets wasn't helping his current situation. He glanced back at Rufus who was crossing and uncrossing his legs. At least he knew that he was turned on.

Reno wanted to wipe that smug smirk off his pompous face.

A voice in his ear told him that he had to pay attention to flying again.

* * *

Tseng frowned at Reno's attire. Reno was never one to wear his suit properly to begin with, but this deviation from the normal work attire was way out from the norm.

~ _turtlenecks do not follow the clothing regulations ~_

He might have overlooked it if it wasn't such an atrocious colour. It was a terrible shade of green that nearly glowed and reminded him a bit of Christmas colours with how his red hair contrasted with it.

He was preparing himself a coffee before the morning meeting. He observed his subordinates react to the strange attire on the puzzling Turk.

"A little early to get in the holiday spirit?" Cissnei chuckled.

Reno responded simply, "I ran out of white shirts, Sissy."

"Cissnei," she said as she swirled the coffee in her cup and sat beside Rude. Rude sat there silently, but Tseng could tell he was just as curious about the horrible shirt. "Where did you even get something of _that_ horrible colour?"

"It was fashionable a couple of years back, Sissy. Don't tell me you didn't have a tube-top this colour," Reno quipped. Tseng wondered if she did indeed have a tube-top that colour from the redness of her cheeks.

"Reno," Rude said in a firm, low tone. Tseng was always amazed at how the two communicated. Simple words and gestures between the two spoke volumes.

Reno slumped in his chair and tugged at the snug shirt around his throat. Tseng knew very well that he didn't like things constricting his neck, so why was he purposely putting himself through …

~ _Rufus~_

He saw the marks on Reno's neck as he tugged at it, trying to make it more comfortable for him to breathe.

He had hoped that the helicopter would not be a place where Rufus would try something on Reno, but obviously the Vice-President had, from the bruising that he briefly observed. Reno had left the chopper pad so quickly that he did not have time to talk to him at the time of his arrival. There were other pressing matters with dealing with moving the President and Vice-President to the meeting with the Science Department heads. He did not see him disappear until he had inquired where he was to the crew that was working on securing the chopper.

~ _we need to have a little chat about his little crushes~_

"Reno."

Reno jumped and looked at him. He tugged at his collar again, but this time it was like he was trying to make it go higher up his neck. "Sir."

"After this meeting, we do need to have a chat. Can you free yourself up for an hour? I am available after this morning's meeting," Tseng said as he walked behind him. He could smell the 'flavouring' that Reno had in his coffee and frowned at the thought of him partaking in alcohol so early in the morning.

~ _Rufus has to stop interfering with him~_

Reno nodded. "Sure thing, Boss. Um... your office, right?" He sounded a bit nervous.

Tseng nodded. "Mary-Beth will let you in," he said simply, and was glad to see the relieved look on his face at the mention of his strict secretary.

* * *

Yeah, another Dark Nation Chappy… I want one as a pet.  
~ _goin' to eat me as a snack~_ after I reread this, I realized that Reno could have been referring to Rufus or Dark Nation. You can decide which one he is referring too, yourself.  
And Rufus has the upper hand on everything, doesn't he.

Now everyone, all together now, "Poor Reno."

I will apologize for the delay, and I will make the excuse that work has drained the life out of me, and leave it at that.


	38. impatience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TEASE**

**TEASE**

* * *

 **Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic, can guess who they are… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…She is gravely injured with yet another Malady and she still manages to read and edit my material… hugs and kisses, dear Ziggy and continued thanks and more thanks…

Tseng has a confrontation with Bratty Rufus.  
Cloud falls into a Reno Plan.  
Zack does not like a text message.  
Sephiroth is anxious.  
A little bit of everything in here…including the annoying Joseph.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **IMPATIENCE**  
…

"Here comes your sugar-daddy," Joseph said.

He looked over to see Reno shuffling over with his tray of food. Cloud looked worriedly at him. He hadn't seen the Turk in over a week. He knew things were busy around Shin-Ra lately, but it was almost as if all his friends were so busy running around, that they didn't have time to have a simple conversation.

~ _including Zack~_

Everyone's duties had increased in the last couple weeks with the clones and other issues. Even the barracks were lacking of troopers in the evenings as they often were on missions or patrols.

~ _he looks so tired~_

"Hey," Reno mumbled and sat heavily beside him. "What's up, yo?"

"Patrols and training. You?"

Reno shrugged. "Same ol' shit." He sat beside him and looked at his tray, as if he were seeing the food for the first time. "What the hell? Is this what I ordered?"

Cloud looked at the food on the Turk's plate and chuckled. "You needed to be specific about the type of soup you wanted."

Reno stirred the white soup with a look of utter disgust on his face. Cloud took pity on him. "Here, I have the beef barley, I'll take the mushroom." He grabbed the bowl and switched it with his.

"Thanks, Cloudo, you're the best," Reno said with a relieved smile.

"I'm sure he is." Reno looked over at Joseph who was sitting across from them, giving them a large goofy smile with his chin resting in his nested hands.

~ _damn that sugar-daddy list~_

Reno frowned at Joseph.

Cloud kicked the pesky blue-haired infantryman under the table. "Don't mind him. He's just being a moron." Joseph winced but kept on smiling as he ate some of his own soup.

"So, it's nothing new, eh?" Reno said as he added pepper to his food.

Cloud chuckled at that. Joseph didn't look offended; he never was by such comments. He pointed to Reno's ear. "Well, it looks like you got something new. When did you change out your earring? I thought you had a silver one before."

Reno reached up to his ear, where there was a gold loop. "Yeah. Got it the other day as a gift."

Cloud turned his head to the side and noted the earring. It was quite fancy; it wasn't a simple little loop, and it look like there was a swirl of white gold or platinum that twisted in with the yellow gold. "Nice," Cloud said as he leaned a little closer to get a better look. "A gift? From who?"

"Looks pretty fancy," Joseph said. He winked flamboyantly at Cloud. "Does your sugar-daddy have a sugar-daddy?"

"Shut up!" Cloud kicked him harder this time. Joseph grunted but kept smiling.

Reno just frowned and seemed to make the conscious decision to ignore Joseph. Cloud glared at him, hoping that Joseph would keep those stupid 'sugar-daddy' comments to himself. Joseph still smiled and continued to stare at them.

"It looks nice," Cloud said. He did like it. It was a bit fancier than what he usually wore and there was a nice sparkle to it. He thought it was a good time to note the unusual shirt that Reno was wearing; it was a little bit strange to see that he wasn't wearing his usual sloppy white shirt, but a black turtleneck. "What's with the shirt? Is that new Turk issue?"

"Is it another gift?" Joseph asked.

~ _Joseph is finding this way too amusing~_

Cloud kicked him under the table again. This time, he got an 'ow' out of the blue-haired pest. Reno glared at Joseph. "We're trying out a new style," he said idly through clenched teeth.

~ _there is more to that story~_

"How you liking it?" Joseph asked. "You look like you're choking." Cloud went to kick Joseph under the table again, but he moved his chair back to avoid the foot with a smug look on his face.

"Much too snug for my likin', yo," Reno said, tugging at the neck of his shirt. Cloud saw something dark cross his face at saying that and he got a brief glimpse of some faded bruises on his neck.

~ _did he get hurt on his last mission?~_

"I think it looks good," Cloud said honestly. It did make his neck look longer and the darker shirt seemed to make his red hair look redder. "It makes you look more professional."

"Are ya sayin' that I normally look like a slob, yo?" Reno said with a smirk.

"No," Cloud quickly added. "I'm not saying that."

"Uh-oh. Lovers' quarrel," Joseph said, leaning forward and pulling out his phone. "You two better kiss and make up." Joseph's voice was raised to a high pitch. "Come on now. I need a picture to win the bet."

Reno stiffened. "Bet?"

~ _I'll make sure that there is molotov in his sheets tonight~_

"Don't worry about the idiot." Cloud frowned. "Hey look." He pointed to Dean as he walked in. "I think someone is looking for you."

Joseph looked, twisting in his chair briefly, but then turned back to them. "Come on Cloud. I could use the money. I know it's him. Just one little…ow!" Cloud was able to kick Joseph again as he had moved within kicking range, but this time Joseph kicked back. Cloud gave a loud yell and glared at his friend. Reno chuckled, but looked a little confused at the banter and kicking.

"Well, I'll let you two work it out," Joseph said with a smile as he stood, grabbing the remains of his food and walked toward where Dean had seated himself.

"What's up with the ditz?"

"I really don't think I can explain him," Cloud admitted. He didn't want to tell Reno about the list and how Joseph was convinced that Reno was his sugar-daddy, as they were all calling the 'mysterious' guy he was dating.

~ _I don't know why the guys are so interested in my sex life.~_

Reno chuckled and it was good to see that the smile seemed genuine. Cloud noted that he was fiddling with his earring now.

~ _If I don't ask I will never know~_

"Are you sure you're okay?" Cloud said, placing a hand gently on Reno's shoulder. "I know you normally don't care for the food in here, but you normally at least ask what it is. What's on your mind?"

Reno gave a sigh and pushed his food away. "Pushy, aren't ya?" Reno said with another sigh as he fiddled with his earring. "I should give this back. I should have never put it on."

"Why?" Cloud asked. "It looks nice."

"Well, when I got it, I was mad at him for all the shit that he put me through," Reno muttered. "Rationalized that I deserved it."

"So you have a boyfriend?"

"No," Reno said quickly. "Well, I don't know if you could call it that. Shit. I don't know what the hell to think, yo." Reno ran a hand through his hair. "It's complicated."

"Nothing is ever simple."

"No shit," Reno said as he tugged at the collar of his shirt again. "My life is a fuckin' mess."

Cloud smiled and Reno seemed to loosen up a bit. "Eat. The soup is good. They didn't get their last shipment of salt so you can taste the food this time." He took a spoonful of his own soup, as he was quite hungry.

~ _gotta make sure my strength is up for my training session tonight~_

Reno followed his example and they ate in silence for a bit. Cloud noted that Reno kept either tugging at his fancy earring or his shirt collar. He got another glimpse of the bruises on his neck and saw now that they were not from a fight.

"Are you going to tell me about any of it? I can tell it's bugging you," Cloud said. "How long has this all been going on?" He had already finished his food and he noticed that Reno had only eaten half of his.

Reno let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in his chair, slouching. "I've been getting a lot of gifts." His hand twirled the loop in his ear. "I don't know how I feel about it."

"What kind of gifts?"

"Well, there's this earring, this shirt, a couple bottles of some expensive vodka, smokes, gum and even some damn flowers. I mean, who sends another guy flowers, eh?" Reno sighed. "I don't know if they are tryin' to outdo each other or what."

Cloud remembered Reno asking him if Zack had bought him some smokes awhile back. That was about a month ago. Then what Reno said registered. "Guys? As in two? Outdo each other?" Reno sank in his chair. "You have two guys giving you gifts?"

"Lower your voice," Reno said lowly, grabbing his shoulder. "It isn't somethin' to brag about, yo."

"Not to brag about? Who are they?" Cloud asked and was now even more curious about who caused those yellowing bruises on his neck. "Are they from the science department or something?" Cloud thought having two guys buying for his attention would be pretty cool.

Reno snorted and gave a chuckle. "No, no lab rats. They are more problematic than a few white coats."

"Then tell them you're not interested and return the gifts if it such a problem," Cloud said. "Are you interested in any of them?"

"No!" He blurted, but went to touch the earring in his ear again. "Well, maybe a little. It's all very confusin'."

"What's confusing about it?"

Reno looked like he was going to say something, but a strange look came across his face and he shut his mouth. He leaned closer to him and whispered. "Because I'm still not sure what to think about it all, yo. I mean, are they just using me for amusement or what?"

"What's going on?" Cloud asked a little worriedly. Reno seemed to slump a bit in his chair and gave out a heavy sigh. Cloud reached his arm around Reno's shoulders so he could pull him into a small hug.

"A little tighter so I can get a good picture!"

He pulled away from Reno and looked up to see Joseph standing at the table near Dean fiddling with his phone. A few of the men in the room laughed – names of which he recognized as some on that cursed list.

"Goddamn blue moron," Reno mumbled, grabbing the pepper shaker off the table and throwing it at him, hitting him in the middle of his forehead.

The room burst into laughter as Joseph broke into a series of curses and sneezes. Cloud found himself laughing as well. It was amusing to see him twisting and Dean trying to help him by brushing the pepper off his clothes, only making it worse.

Cloud chuckled at the humorous show that was occurring at the other table when his phone beeped. He looked at the call display and the name presented made him smile wider.

~ _Zack~_

He quickly flipped open the phone and scrolled to get to the new message. The warm happy feeling at the thought of the message from him quickly left, and he found himself frowning despite the theatrics going on around him.

"This sucks," Cloud murmured.

Reno looked over at him. "Got called in?"

"Zack cancelled our training session. Again!" Cloud said. He didn't like how he sounded. He didn't want to be the needy boyfriend type, but he looked forward to their training sessions, which were becoming less frequent. Work was always the excuse and he knew that there was a lot of responsibility of being a First Class SOLDIER, but…

~ _I want him to be with me~_

Dean was starting to sneeze now and more laughter filled the room. Cloud didn't feel much like laughing anymore.

"Well, that doesn't mean you can't still train," Reno said, glancing over with an amused glint in his blue eyes at the sneezing men. It did sound like they were trying to curse out Reno but the sneezing and watery eyes were preventing coherent words.

"I don't want to train alone," Cloud said, pouting. "It's not as effective swinging my sword around at imaginary opponents. I don't have access to the simulation rooms, just the training room."

"I'm not sayin' that you need to go alone. I'm available, yo," Reno said, tapping is EMR that was attached to his side. "I'm sure that I can put ya through the paces, eh."

"You." Cloud scoffed. "How can your rod go against my sword?"

~ _oh… that sounded bad. Why does Reno always make me say silly things like this?~_

And from the amused smile on Reno's face, he could see Reno was having the same inappropriate thoughts. "We'll have to see how that all works out, yo." Reno's attention turned back to now a group of four sneezing men and chuckled. "You think you can defeat a Turk, yo? I fight differently than Zackers, maybe it'll do ya some good to have someone different workin' with ya, eh?"

Cloud couldn't deny that logic. He had been…

~ _past tense~_

…practicing with Zack a lot and he was getting used to his moves…

~ _and not just in the training room~_

…so practicing with someone that had different patterns would be good for him. "That'll be great," Cloud said as he started to type a message back to Zack.

Reno smiled brightly and Cloud returned the smile.

* * *

Sephiroth was restless. He was pacing in the camp and waiting for a chopper. He had only been to Midgar once since his last encounter with Reno and he was anxious to have more than a glimpse of the redhead at a distance.

~ _I was curious as to why he was wearing that odd turtleneck~_

But he did like how he looked, even with the suit. It made his hair look redder and his neck longer.

~ _graceful~_

He had to attend a debriefing and was not able to set up a time to meet with the Turk.

He was well aware that he could call him, but he had a feeling that the redhead would brush off his distant attempts. He was certain that he would be ignored if he did not come face to face with the Turk.

~ _the sooner the better, too~_

He was more than anxious. He was anticipating having a warm body back in his bed, to have red hair splayed across his pillow and the room filled with the sounds of passion.

~ _pretty sure he'll be vocal~_

He stopped his pacing and let out a growl. A member of the infantry made a squeaking noise and quickly took off deeper into the camp. He allowed his eyes to follow the man, but his thoughts quickly turned to plans for the future.

He was still uncertain if how he was approaching Reno was correct. Genesis had been the aggressor in his last relationship. He had been the one that had been seduced and dragged into the bedroom.

~ _was Reno really interested?~_

That was a genuine concern. One moment the Turk seemed to be running from him, hiding on top of his chopper, but at the same time, giving him constant looks and signs that he was interested.

It was confusing and he didn't have anyone to talk to about it. He thought of Zack, but already he was sure that Zack was suspicious of his liking of the Turk. It was not something that he knew how to ask for assistance with.

He knew he was not imagining how Reno's hand twitched and how he inhaled sharply when he leaned into the Turk.

~ _and he smelled so good~_

He wanted to do so much more than just that small little touch that he gave as he was aware of how Reno was reacting to him. It was evident that he wanted to touch his hair. He was always amused at how everyone always wanted to touch his hair. There was many a night that he fell asleep with Genesis stroking or twirling his hair around his fingers.

~ _Reno surely would do the same~_

Reno's hair was quite long in the back. He still had vivid memories of how Genesis would look tossing his head and the hair hanging in his eyes, but his hair was short. Reno's was long and would be able to…

He took a deep breath. He was becoming aroused with the thoughts of Reno, naked and groaning in his bed when he was not even sure that the invitation would be accepted.

"S-sir?" He looked over to see a nervous Third Class SOLDIER give him a salute. "Your chopper has arrived."

"Who is the pilot?" he asked sharply.

"Uh. It is Cissnei of the Turks sir," the SOLDIER said, obviously nervous to be talking with him, and he was not in the mood to make an effort to ease it. "Wh-when will you be ready to depart, s-sir?"

He narrowed his eyes at the stuttering fool. It was not the name that he was hoping for. It would be easier to deal with his growing problem now, if the redhead were here.

He was going to ensure that his invitation was accepted.

* * *

Zack hated sending the text message, but he didn't have the heart to tell Cloud that he was going to miss another training session. He knew the tone of voice that he would have and he didn't want to hear his disappointment.

He hadn't been able to make both of their training sessions in weeks and he could see that Cloud was disappointed, even if he hadn't said anything about it yet.

He sighed as he listened to some geeks talk with more geeks about what geeky things they had to do. He was just pure muscle on this and the only time he got asked a question was when they had to ask about if he would be able to take care of a monster or two.

He would rather be training with Cloud…

~ _and taking him home after~_

…than sitting with the geeks.

He sighed heavily as he walked out of the horrid meeting, stretching and groaning loudly as he did so. He would have two more days on this mission that was already much too long. He hoped that he would make it home by Sunday so that he could spend some time with Cloud.

He gave the geeks a nod as they walked in to go talk more about more geeky stuff, but he made sure that he kept his distance so that he wouldn't get dragged into it. He didn't have a clue what they were talking about half the time.

Mako servant qualities and lower base mutation… He didn't know what it meant and he didn't want to, but it was his job to protect the geeks.

But he wanted to be back in his bed, preferably warmed by Cloud.

He walked over to a tree and leaned against it. He was smiling at the thoughts of his plans for Sunday. He should have leave for the whole day and according to the current schedule, so would Cloud.

~ _hopefully nothing changes~_

He would have to make sure that he got groceries to make Cloud pancakes and ensured that they had more jam as well.

His phone beeped. He looked at it and smiled. Cloud had returned his message. He hoped Cloud understood and wouldn't be too mad at him.

~ _I should have mentioned that I'll make those pancakes he was pouting over~_

'It's alright. Reno will help me train instead. **'**

"What!" he yelled as he read the message. A few people looked at him as he yelled at his phone but went on their way.

He did not like this turn of events. He grabbed his phone and tried to call Cloud but his phone kept cutting out and it wouldn't go through.

~ _damn it~_

* * *

"I need to talk with you, Sir."

Rufus hummed and looked up from the papers he had been looking over.

"I need you to stop changing my protocols." Tseng tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Specifically in regards to Reno."

Rufus' eyes grew hard and he saw his body tense. "You have _no_ authority to tell _me_ what to do."

Tseng stood his ground. "I am aware of that, sir, but you are interfering with how we can function to ensure the security of Shin-Ra and yourself. You are putting yourself and the company in a precarious position by altering protection measures. The incident in Junon left you without protection for a full day."

"I was with Reeve," Rufus said with a bored look on his face and waved his hands as if he was dismissing the thought.

"Reeve is not a Turk and does not have the training required to protect you. This is not a game, sir!" Tseng said, allowing the anger to colour his voice.

"I am not playing," Rufus said, straightening in his chair.

"I need you to stop distracting…

~ _pursuing~_

… Reno!"

"I am not the only one on his mind," Rufus said and leaned back in his chair. "Surely you know the full story on what is floating around in his pretty head. I am not his only interest."

Tseng had got some information for Legend and Reno had reluctantly confirmed most of what was said. He was pretty sure there were still some underlying issues that he wasn't seeing or being told about, but he knew the big one was sitting right in front of him. SOLDIERs could be dealt with; Rufus was a completely different issue. "You are his primary concern."

Rufus' mouth twitched. "You are not worried about his SOLDIER interests?"

"A relationship between the infantrymen is doomed for failure," Tseng stated. "If he chooses to have his fling with that boy, that is his prerogative, and I will not interfere with Sephiroth. Neither will last long."

Rufus' eyes turned to him and gave him an amused smile that Tseng did not care for. "You are being hypocritical."

"You are being unreasonable." Tseng found himself taking a step forward and becoming angry. He forced himself to take a deep breath and speak in a calmer tone of voice. "I remember how devastated he looked when I caught you two in my office, sir."

"You were not supposed to return when you did. We already discussed that," Rufus said. "I still have to see all of his tattoos because of your early arrival."

"You don't call that toying with him?" Tseng said angrily.

"Tseng," Rufus said as he stood, straightening his white suit. "I'm not doing anything that he doesn't want. If Reno had not shown interest, I would not have pursued him. I do not pursue lost causes. You are the one that interfered with Kalm and tried to keep him away from me. I did not appreciate being saddled up with that lump, Legend. I know you kept Reno away from me for the longest while knowing of my curiosity. He is not a plaything. I am…" Rufus sighed. "Interested."

"Like how you were interested in Genesis, sir?" Tseng asked, aware of how terse his voice sounded. He knew that he was crossing the line with this conversation.

He saw Rufus' jaw clench. "I do not need to answer such questions." Tseng took a step back, allowing Rufus to have room. "Or do you want to answer questions about your affiliations with SOLDIER?"

Tseng's words failed him. He could not refute the claim that was being tossed at him, but he was not aware that it was such common knowledge. "My affiliations with SOLDIER are none of your concern," he said curtly.

"Everything is my concern, Tseng. If you want me to ignore your past encounters, do not bother me with your petty issues. If time allowed, this would be already resolved," Rufus said simply. "My interest in Reno is more than just a passing curiosity."

Tseng had doubts about that statement. He desperately wanted to turn the conversation back to the issue of Reno. "I need Reno to be able to perform."

"So do I," Rufus said as a crooked smile formed. "I am not having any further discussion with you on this. I will not be told what I am allowed to do by you, or my father." Rufus stood erect and looked him straight in the eye. Tseng made a concerted effort not to look away. "When Reno says that he doesn't want me, I will stop pursuing him. Stop interfering with my affairs, Tseng, or your precious director position will be compromised."

"Are you threatening me, sir?" Tseng said in a low voice. He was a bit taken aback by the blatant hostility coming from the Vice-President. He knew that most of their conversations were terse and often short and they conflicted on many an issue in the boardroom. They had been civil to each other and had a working relationship that he deemed tolerable.

~ _but I will not have my position threatened~_

"You are hardly in that position either, sir, with your own past dealings."

He found himself staring into the cold eyes of the Vice-President. He knew he was not a man to underestimate. His past attempts at taking over the company and to dispose of his father was proof enough. Not to mention his constant squabbles with Lazard ever since the announcement of his rise to his current position.

"If you do not interfere with me, I will not interfere with your future progress within the company," Rufus stated.

~ _fancy way of saying that we are at a stalemate~_

Tseng was about to say something further when Rufus raised a hand to silence him. Tseng snapped his jaw shut, aware that he had crossed a line with threatening the Vice-President. "I do not have intentions of harming him," Rufus said in a softer voice. "I am not lying when I say that I have taken a liking to him."

Tseng examined the face of the young man; a man that had very little control of his life as he was ruled by others around him. Rufus was a man with a very important title that really meant nothing; it was more to allow the President to keep an eye on his actions and to control him.

~ _nothing more than a paper-tiger~_

"I would prefer if you would not 'mark' him then, sir. His choice of cover clothing was quite an atrocity." Tseng had noted that Reno had taken to wearing black turtle necks instead of that horrid green one. He had been very grateful that he had got new attire to hide the bruising on his neck.

"I will agree to that. I am afraid I got carried away. Reno tends to do that to me," Rufus stated and was blushing slightly. "I ensured that he had more appropriate clothing. It was a horrible shirt."

Tseng couldn't refrain from snorting.

"Are we done?" Rufus said. "I do believe I have a boring meeting to attend that I am already late for." He straightened his suit unnecessarily.

"Yes, sir," Tseng said simply. "As long as your…" Tseng had to think of an appropriate word, "attentions do not interfere with how he functions or interfere with Shin-Ra, we should not have any further need of discussion."

Rufus nodded and started to walk out the door. "I will do my best to make sure that we do not have further discussions."

Tseng swore he heard the additional words, 'but I won't make any promises' muttered under the blond's breath.

Tseng closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. The discussion did not go as he had planned and he was now further worried about the redhead and how he could mitigate the damage that he already allowed.

And he also had the concern of what Rufus knew of his past as well.

* * *

Cloud lay on the floor panting and sweating. Reno twirled his nightstick and looked down at the infantryman with an amused smirk.

~ _how did he not make it into SOLDIER yet with skills like that?~_

"You fight much differently than Zack. I'm glad that you didn't use the shock on there, or I would have been done in the first five minutes," Cloud said, panting as he was trying to catch his breath.

Reno plopped himself besides the panting blond and pulled his knees to his chest. "You're pretty good for a runt," Reno said nudging his arm with his foot.

~ _not going to admit to him that he almost had me a couple of times~_

Cloud grunted. "Not a runt." Reno handed Cloud a bottle of water. Cloud pulled himself up into a sitting position and drank a couple of loud gulps. "Thanks."

"You did pretty good," Reno said.

"Really? I didn't think I was keeping up," Cloud said as he pulled his shirt up to wipe the sweat off his face. Reno had to look away at the sight of the young man's very well developed abs.

~ _fuck, he's hot~_

The shirt fell back down and Cloud took another drink of water. Reno was more than aware that he was still wearing the annoying turtleneck and he could feel it tightening around his throat again. He tugged at it. He had removed his jacket for their little scrap, as the shirt was making him feel trapped. He hated the shirt but he didn't really want to explain the love bites all over his neck.

"Are you going to talk about that?" Cloud asked and reached forward. Reno was not expecting Cloud to tug at the collar and reveal the fading marks. Reno pulled away.

"Hey!" Reno said as he smoothed it back up. "Not really, yo." He already said too much and was regretting saying stuff about the gifts. He blamed that loudmouth Joseph.

"Which one of the guys did that to you?" Cloud asked. "You got a hickey farm on your neck."

~ _hickey farm? Rufus did quite a number on me~_

"It's not that bad, yo," Reno said as he ran his hand over his neck.

"Come on, Reno. I can tell something has been bugging you lately. I've been worried about you," Cloud said. The look of worry on his face was evident as his eyes were like that of a beaten puppy.

~ _he's been spending way too much time with Zack~_

"Do you want to talk about why you went all pouty when Zack couldn't make your training session?" Reno countered.

Cloud looked away. He smirked slightly at his diversion tactic. He didn't want to reveal that he had Sephiroth hunting him or explaining that extremely sexy and scary helicopter ride.

~ _both helicopter rides~_

"He is always so busy," Cloud said.

Reno's eyes grew wide as he looked at Cloud.

~ _he wasn't really supposed to answer that~_

"Always running off to save the world," Cloud said as he drank some more water. "I don't want to be that type of guy that needs to constantly…" Cloud stopped talking and shook his head and looked away from him. "I just miss him when he's not here." He spoke in a low voice and turned his head away.

~ _I'd feel the same way if I was with Zack~_

"Ya know, he's not doin' it on purpose," Reno said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I can tell he cares for ya, but he's also a SOLDIER, yo." Cloud turned to look at him with large sad blue eyes.

~ _I wouldn't want to leave Cloud if he was mine~_

"I know. I'm just being pathetic." Cloud gave a heavy sigh and finished off his water bottle.

"He'll be back before ya know it and he'll be back to tirin' ya out here and in the bedroom, yo." Reno had to avoid Cloud taking a swing at him. It wasn't a real attempt to hit him, but Cloud's face, which was already red from exertion, turned redder with embarrassment.

"Are you going to tell me who has been sucking at your neck?"

Reno frowned. He twirled the earring that Rufus had gotten him. The brat had left the package on his office desk with a short apology note about how he didn't mean to bruise him. That was the same day a package of turtlenecks arrived at his door when he woke in the morning, all from Rufus.

~ _and then there was the gum~_

It was obviously a flirting attempt by Sephiroth again. The three packs of cinnamon gum total, that appeared in his helicopter and his desk, freaked him out a bit, but he pocketed them. There was another bottle of vodka from Rufus.

~ _Rufus has gotten me a lot of gifts. Sephiroth has got me smokes and gum~_

"Was he at least a nice-looking guy?" Cloud asked with a devious little smirk. "Or is he someone hideous and that's why you won't tell me?"

"No, they are both quite handsome," Reno said.

~ _fuckin' hotties~_

"Oh. How handsome?" Cloud asked as he pulled himself from the floor to stand. He reached down his gloved hand for him. "The way you are blushing I would say that they are pretty hot."

He swatted Cloud's hand away and stood up on his own. "Shut it, yo!"

Cloud gave a light chuckle. "Then what's the problem?"

"Everyone is a bunch of fuckin' flirts," Reno blurted.

Cloud shook his head. "I've never known you to not to take actions into your own hands." Cloud offered his hand again. This time Reno took it and allowed himself to be pulled up.

"It's complicated," Reno mumbled.

Cloud's face got all tense and his grip increased, making sure they were standing close to each other. Reno gulped at the serious look on the young man's face.

~ _so close I could just kiss him to test the waters~_

"How complicated?"

His hand held his firmly waiting for an answer. Reno just wanted to shake him off and make a joke, but he couldn't. "Very."

They stared at each other for a little bit.

"Are you going to tell me anything about your two sugar-daddys?" Cloud said with a smirk coming across his lips. Reno shoved the blond away from him and gave out a serious of curses.

Cloud smiled brightly and laughed.

~ _Zack's a fool to miss out on Cloud like this~_

"I'm goin' to have a shower and crash," Reno blurted and reached for his jacket. "If you ever need another training partner, I'm always up for a tussle."

He watched Cloud's eyes dart down and his face turn slightly pink.

~ _his mind is nearly as dirty as mine~_

"Yeah. Anytime. I'll give you a call next time Zack is not available for a session," Cloud said as he picked up his bag.

"See ya," Reno called out as he watched Cloud leave the training room.

Reno sighed as he threw his suit jacket back on. He was wondering if his previous plan was such a good idea now. He couldn't help but think about how cute and sexy Cloud was. The man was a wonderful fighter and for someone that was supposed to be an amateur, he sure was graceful.

Yet again, someone that was out of his reach.

~ _damn it~_

….

I wrote the first scene last because Cloud was not cooperating with me. He just wouldn't say the right things and Joseph was being bitchy about things as well.

*sigh*… well, I think it turned out in the end.

A word that popped into my inbox while I was editing and I think it describes Rufus quite well during this period of time: Paper Tiger: One who is outwardly strong and powerful but is in fact powerless and ineffectual.

 **Authors Note: New story: TEASE: Puppy** For those of you that are interested… It won the poll that I closed a little while back. So if you are interested, go and read all about the list of Zack's first times… meeting Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Tseng, Reno and all the other things that I know you guys want to know, about…well, you know…FIRSTS GALORE.

I am sure you will all be impatiently waiting for the next chapter…

…and I humbly await for you opinion on this chapter.


	39. Interrupted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

**Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… yaoi…if you don't like that…don't read. You can probably guess who they are by now…now it is just how will it all come together.

 **Pre-Author's Note:  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

I lied... I posted this before I finished my assignment... it is giving me a headache  
Thank you for all waiting patiently for this fic to come out. There is a longwinded explanation at the end for the reason why it took so long.

Rufus and Sephiroth have a little talk  
A little bit of Rude and Cissnei. (I know, het. How odd.) Reno hides under his desk.  
Cloud and Zack have a date… but boy does Cloud get mad after. Don't really blame him either.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **INTERRUPTED**

* * *

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at Rufus. The brat was sitting beside his father who was making yet another speech about the already well-known advancements that Shin-Ra had been making in the last couple of months. He knew he should have cared since it had to do with the army, but he was focusing on the Vice-President.

The smug little brat was sitting there and giving him constant looks.

He was able to deduce from the surveillance that Rufus was responsible for the reason that Reno was out of uniform with that snug-fitting turtleneck sweater. He had made a suggestion that cameras be placed in helicopters to help with instructional flight lessons. He didn't know what happened in the choppers, but he had a pretty good idea. Reeve took the idea back with him, but he doubted the man would be allowed to follow through with such things.

"We need to test the new surveillance bots in the slums and we'll have the Turks ensure that they are functioning properly," President Shinra announced. Everyone nodded at the table as a break was called for the meeting.

Scarlet winked at him.

~ _doesn't that woman ever give up?~_

He had threatened to throw her down a flight of stairs when she decided to paw him once. He just about broke her arm in his fury at her touching him. Luckily, Genesis was able to step in and calm the scene down before it became too chaotic.

~ _I don't know why they keep her around. She is such an idiot~_

The President's group of 'yes men' all surrounded him and congratulated him on his brilliance. The President wrapped an arm around Scarlet's slender waist.

~ _oh, right~_

He walked over to a corner away from the group of suits and hoped to have a few moments of peace, but he knew that wasn't going to happen when he saw the Vice-President's smug smile. Rufus walked over to him with a small notebook in hand. Sephiroth found himself straightening and frowning down at the shorter man.

"Sephiroth."

"Rufus."

"Impressive advancement, is it not?"

He grunted in response. Rufus gave him a small smile.

"It has been an eventful couple of weeks, has it not?"

"Enlightening," he offered as an answer.

"I'm sure."

They stood side by side for awhile with an awkward silence between them. "You have been away on a lot of missions."

"I heard you had a vacation," Sephiroth countered.

"Yes. I needed to get away from the burdens of leadership," Rufus returned. He was one of the few that were brave enough to meet his eyes. It had irked him at first at how Rufus would challenge him. Even when he was younger and obviously nervous, the future leader did not want to show any weakness. Sephiroth was able to make the President cower at times, but not the Vice-President.

It didn't bother him anymore as he knew how to get under the skin of the man. Sephiroth smirked. "It is such a shame that your vacation did not go as planned and you were not able to enjoy the pleasures of the countryside." Sephiroth was well aware of the plan that Rufus had devised to get closer to his Turk and how it had failed. "And then being called back early for that meeting with the Science Department before the nightlife in Junon could be explored. Such a shame your leadership was called upon so quickly to interrupt your vacation."

Rufus' eyebrows twitched as he tried to maintain a calm demeanour. Sephiroth was quite pleased to see that he was able to catch Rufus in his own word games so quickly.

"It was quite a shame," Rufus said, straightening his white coat. "I hear that you have been on so many missions that you don't even have time to let the helicopters land. That could be hazardous to the company's best interests to place you under too much stress. I'm sure your decisions are not as clear as they should be with the amount of stress placed upon you."

"I assure you that I am focused on my tasks," Sephiroth said. He was a little irked at being accused of muddled thoughts but knew better than to comment on it, since he knew what Rufus was really referring to.

Rufus made a small sound and smirked. "Are you sure that your tasks aren't dividing your attentions? I would hate for you to be distracted on a mission." There was a threat in his tone.

Sephiroth let a smile come to his lips, as Reeve was now raising his voice to talk about the next thing on the meeting agenda.

Sephiroth leaned into Rufus slightly so that others would not hear. "I assure you that I am focused on my goal," Sephiroth stated and returned to his seat. He was pleased to see that Rufus scowled as he returned rather stiffly to his own chair by his father.

* * *

Zack refrained from running. He was back early and already had everything planned to spend some time with Cloud, and he couldn't wait to see him. He already had everything planned and all the necessary ingredients to make him pancakes for breakfast. He wasn't supposed to be back until Sunday afternoon, but a Saturday afternoon return was a welcome bonus. He finally found Cloud resting in his bunk with a book in his hand, reading diligently.

"There you are."

Cloud looked up from his book and smiled brightly as he looked at his watch. "You're back early."

"The geeks got their job done early. Thought we could grab a bite somewhere other than the Mess. I was thinking some burgers and fries over at Tommy's." Zack bounced on the end of the bed.

"Sounds great!"

Zack turned to see John smiling from his bunk. He had been so focused on Cloud, he didn't see the other man when he entered. "I'm hungry."

~ _why do I end up paying for everyone when I try to take Cloud out?~_

"That would be great," Cloud said as he looked around the barracks. "Joseph isn't around, is he?"

John snorted. "He sucking up to Dean and still complaining about his eyes burning. Those two will be busy for awhile."

"Great!" Cloud said. "Let's go!" He bounded from the bed with an even larger smile.

Zack sighed and followed after the two infantrymen who were talking about greasy burgers.

* * *

Reno sighed heavily as he sat in his office chair. He had gotten a fresh cup of coffee and the scene in front of him made him want to reach for something stronger than what he had in the flask that he had in his bottom drawer.

He glared across at Rude and Cissnei.

"Ya know, you've been spendin' a lot of time on Rude's lap, Sissy." Reno sneered as he saw Cissnei wrap her arms around Rude's neck and look like they were going to have a make-out session. She didn't remove herself, seemingly quite content. He could tell from Rude's smile that he was pleased with the arrangement as well.

"Get over it," she said and promptly laid a kiss on Rude.

Rude was enjoying her attention as he saw his hand go under her jacket and run up her back.

"Yo! Really! Virgin eyes here!" he bellowed as he covered his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

Rude made a happy hum and broke the kiss. Cissnei scoffed. "Virgin, my ass."

"Well, I'm sure there's nothing virgin about your ass," Reno quipped.

Rude gave him a glare but he got a very satisfying blush from Cissnei as she wiggled slightly with embarrassment.

~ _those two really must have bonded while I was on Mess duty~_

"Well, it seems like it's been so long for you, that your ass might as well be," she returned.

"Ha, ha," Reno mumbled sarcastically.

~ _not that she's wrong about that~_

Cissnei smiled smugly and he watched as Rude wrapped a hand around her waist and gave her a squeeze. He even kissed her cheek.

Reno was actually hoping to talk to Rude. He had hardly talked to his partner in the last couple of weeks and he needed his level head. From the way that Rude was openly cuddling with Cissnei, he was in no mood to leave her.

~ _man, he's in love with her~_

He sighed and poured some of his 'flavouring' in his coffee.

"Is that wise?" Rude asked.

"Probably not." Reno hated this part of the job but he knew it was necessary, and he had to stay in Tseng's good books if he wanted to keep flying a chopper.

Cissnei sighed and gave Rude a slow kiss. Reno made a face at the scene. Rude sighed after they finished sucking face. "I do have to go now," she whispered and ran her hand over his bald head.

He made a gagging noise and received a glare from both of them.

"Call me," Rude said, giving her another affectionate squeeze before she got off his lap.

"Of course," she said with a soft smile at him.

"Ya goin' somewhere?" Reno asked as he twirled in his chair.

"I have work to do. Maybe it's something that you should try," Cissnei said as she stood with her hip cocked and an accusing finger pointed his way.

Reno just smiled at her. She shook her head and grabbed the stapler off Rude's desk and threw it. He caught it easily, smirking at her. "I always liked this stapler."

Rude just sighed and adjusted his sunglasses.

Cissnei started to walk to the office door when he saw a shadow in the frosted window; there was only one person that made that kind of shape.

He didn't think of what he was doing as he instinctively slid out of his chair and hid under his desk. Reno heard the door open and the smooth, deep voice speak, "Ah, I was hoping to find Reno. I thought he was supposed to be here."

He tensed as he heard Cissnei speak. "He's hiding under his desk."

~ _I'm going to kill her~_

He heard a small amused grunt come from the General. "Do you know where he may be?"

"He was going to grab a bite to eat," Rude lied for him. He wanted to jump up and kiss his partner, but that would have to wait until after he shot Cissnei.

He heard the sound of something hitting his desk. He jumped slightly and clutched the stapler to his chest. "Tell him that I am looking for him."

The door closed again but he didn't dare move. He heard Cissnei start to chuckle. "Oh. My. Gaia. What was that about?" He waited until he saw his partner's way-too-amused face peering at him. Rude had his pierced eyebrow raised in question.

"Is this some of the backlash?"

Reno sighed and nodded.

"Sephiroth threw gum on your desk," Cissnei said and there was amusement in her voice.

"He's gone." Rude stood up and Reno crawled out from under his desk and threw himself in his chair. He didn't look up at his fellow Turks.

"I want to hear this!" Cissnei said and sat on the corner and gave him an expectant look. He glared at her and clenched his hands around the stapler. He was tempted to throw it at her. He was grateful when he heard her phone beep. "Damn it. I got to go."

"Toodles, Sissy." He really didn't want to talk with her around. She may be Rude's main squeeze and all, but he didn't really want her to know about his sex life, or lack of sex life ... or was it the teasing sex life that he could be having?

She pouted and he saw his partner's face soften.

~ _he's a complete sap now~_

"I want full details later!" she said firmly, gave Rude's arm a squeeze and finally left.

Rude crossed his arms and stared at him.

Reno sighed and looked at the red Swingline stapler in his hand. "If I tell you, I get to keep the stapler. Deal?"

* * *

"So, how did your training session with Reno go?" Zack had been dying to ask this question since they sat down for their food, but John kept talking about his latest patrol.

He normally liked the guy…

~ _he was better than Joseph~_

…but he wanted to talk to Cloud about Reno.

"Yeah, how did that go?" John asked as he stuffed some fries in his mouth.

"Good, I guess," Cloud said with a shrug. "He has a lot on his mind. I'm still worried about him." He poured ketchup on his fries.

~ _with Sephiroth having him in his sights, he should be worried~_

"Why are you worried about him?" Zack said, curious as to what Reno had told him.

"What does that Turk have to worry about?" John talked with food in his mouth. Zack wrinkled his nose at him and John swallowed sheepishly.

"He wouldn't say really. He avoided the topic." Cloud took a sip of his drink and ended up making a slurping sound. "He was good to train with, even though I spent more time on the mat than I would have liked."

Zack coughed and tried not to choke on his mouthful of burger. "Why was that?"

"He kept sweeping me off my feet and forcing me on my back. He's wiry." Cloud stuffed some fries in his mouth.

"You looked pretty sore after that session," John added as he crammed his face with the remains of his burger.

"He worked me over pretty good." Cloud slurped at his drink again.

"Can't have you getting beat by a Turk, we'll have to work on that," Zack said simply, trying to push out all the innuendos that were floating around in their conversation.

Cloud smiled as he slurped at his nearly empty cup again. "I'll hold you to that."

John rolled his eyes. "Are you going to eat that?" He was pointing to the small serving of coleslaw that was on the side of Cloud's plate. He pushed it toward him and John eagerly grabbed it.

~ _he's a bottomless pit~_

"I'm supposed to be back for two weeks before they send me out again, so we should be able to fit in some extra training sessions," Zack said. He was eager to spend some real time with Cloud. Lazard was talking about him having light-duty again because of the latest onslaught of missions. He felt like he had been neglecting Cloud lately and wanted to show him how much that he meant to him.

Cloud's eyes brightened. "That would be great."

"And I was hoping that we could go to a movie," Zack said, leaning a bit closer to Cloud as he squeezed his knee. "We haven't had the time to do simple stuff like that."

Cloud's grin grew wider.

"Which movie?" John asked as he licked his fork.

Zack scowled at him. He may tolerated John for the meal but he was not taking him to a movie too.

"You have patrol at seven, don't you?" Cloud said quickly, patting his hand. Zack was glad to know that Cloud didn't want John to join them for the rest of the evening.

"Shit, yeah." John frowned and gave a heavy sigh. "Just about forgot about that. I was hoping to see that new movie, that one where those guys are betrayed, ya know, 'Losers'."

"You went to a movie last night with Denise. Why didn't you see that one?" Cloud asked.

John sighed and rolled his eyes. "She wanted to see one that was about music. There was no action at all in it and it was boring, but she liked it." He shrugged his shoulders and blushed.

Zack couldn't help but smirk. "Must've been a good night." He finished off his own drink, silently wishing that it was a little stronger than soda.

"By coming back to the barracks as late as you did, I would hope so." Cloud's low mummer caused John's face to turn bright red as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

John cleared his throat and pushed himself away from the table. "Well, I gotta go. You two enjoy the rest of your evening."

They said their goodbyes and Zack was grateful to be alone with Cloud who was still munching on his fries.

"Are you sure you want to see a movie?" Cloud said as he lowered his eyes and gave him a small sexy smile and a nice firm squeeze on his knee.

Zack smiled but shook his head. "As tempting at that is, I haven't been a very good boyfriend lately."

Cloud blinked and gave him a confused look.

"We barely leave my apartment." Zack kept his voice low so that the people at the other tables wouldn't hear. "We train, and then go back to my place. We meet in the Mess and go back to my place. We phone each other, and then meet up at my place."

Cloud twisted his lips slightly and leaned close to him before he whispered, "Are you saying that we're having too much sex?"

Zack snorted. "That's not what I'm saying." There was nothing wrong with that part of the relationship, as that hand gave him another squeeze before he pulled it off his leg. When he couldn't get a hold of Cloud after receiving that text about him training with Reno, he realized a few things. He had been paying attention to Cloud in the bedroom but they hadn't really gone on a date since the one that Reno paid for at Monteno's. Cloud had been spending more time with Reno than he was, and he didn't like that at all. "I want to treat you to a nice night out."

Cloud tilted his head to the side and looked like he was thinking of something. A big smile broke across his face. "So, does that mean that you're going to buy me more stuff too?"

It was Zack's turn to give him a confused look.

Cloud chuckled. "I guess, since you're supposed to be my sugar-daddy, I should make you buy me more things. I mean, the last thing you bought me were those fancy clothes. So, does that mean I am going to get more presents now?"

Zack blinked a few times. "Where did this sugar-daddy stuff come from?" Zack asked in confusion. It wasn't the first time he heard this term.

~ _he still doesn't know Reno bought those clothes for him~_

Cloud groaned and explained the infamous list as they finished talking and started clean up their mess on the table. Zack found it humorous that there was a running bet on who Cloud was in a relationship with.

"Joseph is in charge of it, so unless he gives me a cut, there is no way I'm telling anyone," Cloud said as Zack threw some gil on the table to pay the bill. "They're being silly anyway about it. I don't understand why my sex life is so interesting anyway."

Zack grinned. "They're just jealous that you have one, Chocobo." Zack did notice the glare and frown that he received from Cloud and he realized that he let the nickname slip out of his mouth.

"I don't need you calling me that too!" Cloud pouted and crossed his arms.

Zack gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry. It slipped."

Cloud looked like he was going to say something angry but Zack decided to cut it off. He leaned into him. "I will make you pancakes for breakfast in the morning."

That seemed to melt any anger away that the nickname caused. "You got groceries?"

"I made sure that this day would be a perfect day out for us," Zack said. "Well, I was hoping not to have the John part."

Cloud smiled. "Really. You planned a night out?"

Zack returned the smile. "Anything for you."

* * *

Cloud had been in heaven.

The date had been wonderful. He had almost forgotten how enjoyable it was to do something as simple as a date. They had been so busy with all the chaos that had been inflicting Shin-Ra, that he didn't even realize that he was missing out on the time that they spent together.

~ _not that I'm complaining about the sex~_

The movie was a little lame, but there were some good action sequences. Zack insisted on popcorn and liquorice because, 'no movie is worth seeing without it', and he promptly stuffed himself with it. They had gone for a simple walk around by the fountain and just talked by the water.

They talked about simple things. Cloud found out about Kunsel's new hair colouring that was courtesy of Reno, and he had told Zack about the 'peppering' of Joseph in the Mess. They just talked about small things that were really not very important - what they ate for lunch, Instructor Clark's strange colour choices in clothing when he was off duty, and how Mrs. Edwards, the materia instructor, seemed to be stalking Clark.

Zack even talked about his parents and what it was like living in Gongaga. He learned about Zack's best friend from there, Albin, and how much trouble they would always get in. It was nice hearing him talk and he could see a picture of a young Zack being such a trouble maker. Cloud couldn't think of his care-free friend…

~ _lover~_

…being any other way.

He was grateful that he didn't have to talk about Nibelhiem. He wasn't ready to talk about it quite yet with Zack or anyone else, even though he knew that it would come up eventually.

It was late before they made it back to Zack's apartment but Cloud didn't mind. He was with Zack and that was all that had mattered. Of course, the promise of homemade pancakes for breakfast made it even better.

The kisses tasted better than they had in the past. Zack's eyes looked brighter as he looked at him. The touches felt softer as his hand roamed with a familiarity up his thigh. Cloud thought that Zack's laugh sounded softer than it ever had, even when Zack had roughly grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder.

Cloud had called Zack a caveman and earned a low grunt from the bigger man before he was carted off to the bedroom and thrown on the bed.

~ _he really gets off on that~_

Cloud had been in heaven, as they stripped off each other's clothes and played with each other with small teasing touches and sounds. He revelled in how demanding and gentle Zack was as he asked him to get to his knees and directed him into position. He couldn't describe how Zack's rough battle-calloused hands felt as they grabbed his hips to get him to rise slightly before he felt fingers curling inside of him.

Zack's small words of encouragement at his passionate noises nearly drove him over the edge. But Zack stopped the impending orgasm with a firm squeeze at the base of his member before he placed the ring there.

Cloud bit the pillow that he hugged to his chest as Zack entered him in a slow and easy manner. He begged Zack to move faster, but Zack had announced that he was going to take it slow because he wanted to make sure that he felt every inch of him.

As much as he hated the cock ring, he had been grateful for it then. He thought he was gaining some staying power until Zack treated him like this.

Zack slowly pushed in and out of him, his rough hands running from his hips to his shoulders in slow and gentle massaging motions. The action calmed him until one of Zack's hands ran up his neck and into his hair, almost as if he were holding him down. He had gasped Zack's name and began to beg him to move faster.

He had felt Zack's warm hand surround his hardened member, squeezing gently and teasing him. Zack leaned over him and he could feel his breath against his neck and heard his soft grunts. He started to plead for the ring to be removed and for the final release.

Zack grunted and he felt him reaching to release him from the confines of the ring that would allow him to finally come.

Cloud had been lost in the promise of the euphoria that was about to come. He thought that he heard the sound of a familiar ringing sound, but it quit so he assumed that he had been just hearing things.

He didn't have time to contemplate it further as Zack started to move faster and changed his angle to a much more pleasurable one.

The ringing occurred again, and that time he was certain it wasn't his imagination.

"Just a moment."

He felt empty as Zack pulled out of him and moved away. He remained kneeling and observed Zack going through his pants in search of the phone.

Cloud was left panting in the compromising position as he watched Zack flip it open and frown at the message. It rang again as he held it.

"Shit."

Cloud felt a panic in his chest. Zack was talking into his phone and getting dressed at the same time. Cloud rolled to his side, pulling a blanket over his very unsatisfied condition. He wasn't hearing the whole conversation but he was hearing things such as, 'Is it that urgent?' and 'I'll be right there,' coming out of Zack.

"You're leaving!" Cloud managed to stammer out. After all that Zack had said about what this night was supposed to be, he was leaving. Cloud was beginning to wonder if all the talk about how he would do anything for him was just a ruse since it was pushed aside as soon as his phone started to ring.

~ _he's leaving~_

Zack was nearly fully dressed now and was reaching for his phone again. He was talking as he scrolled through his phone, talking about Genesis copies attacking and how he was needed.

~ _he's leaving_ ~

Zack leaned over him and held his face so that he looked at him. "I'll make up for this."

~ _he's leaving~_

Cloud tried to say something but Zack's mouth covered his and he melted into the kiss, thinking for a moment that it was just some sort of sick joke. He wrapped his arms around his neck and tried to pull him back down onto the bed so that they could finish what they had started.

But Zack pulled away with a small parting kiss on his nose and another apology that included the promise of pancakes another day.

His arms were removed from around his neck. Zack muttered some words that sounded like more apologies, but Cloud was not able to really hear him. He watched as Zack gave a small look over his shoulder and left.

~ _he can't leave me like this!~_

He heard the door of the apartment open and close. The formerly warm apartment felt cold and empty. He heard himself taking in deep breaths and he was trying to understand what he was feeling.

Because Zack had left.

He didn't remember a word that Zack had said, he only remembered his actions. Part of him wanted to be rational, after all, Zack was a First Class SOLDIER. He was needed because he was good at his job and there were only a few First Class SOLDIERs left. He remembered Zack saying something about Genesis, but what was repeating in his mind was the fact that he left. It was the other and more larger part that was more pissed off than he had ever had been.

He chose to hold onto the anger, because it was easier than being miserably upset. He let out a frustrated yell, that didn't satisfy him at all, and stumbled out of the bed towards the bathroom.

Zack had just left. He had just checked his phone and left. He left him unsatisfied and alone.

He left.

~ _what was so important that it couldn't wait until he at least finished?~_

Cloud stumbled into the bathroom, blinded by his anger and frustration. He ran the shower and made sure the temperature was low to hopefully cool his emotions. He seemed to have been heating the shower with his own fury.

He contemplated going back into Zack's comfortable bed as he finished the shower and dried himself off. He didn't want to crawl back into the mussed sheets. He chose to pull his clothes back on. Zack left, well, he was going to leave too.

He walked towards the door, looking at his coveted key card. He took a couple of moments to think about what he was doing, but his anger overrode every other emotion as he placed the card on the counter.

And he went back to the barracks.

* * *

Sorry it took so very long to get this out. I totally got distracted with work, crack fics, RL, and did I mention my hellish job and a few other strange things that have consumed me… I give you all a feeble sorry. More RL will be distracting me in the future… more courses too. But if it is anything like the last ones, it shouldn't slow me down too much.  
And another feeble sorry about the lame 'Office Space' reference… (I actually covet my own red Swingline that is always being stolen from my office! Damn you! I will burn down the place if they take my stapler. Don't worry, I stole their hole-punch… it's mine HA HA HA!, even though it is not red, but boring black.)

:plug: Beginning of shameless plug:plug::Plug is shameless::plug:Beginning of shamelsess plug::plug:

I have a few new fics oneshots out there.  
 **Stalker** – Reno, Cait and Reeve…its all Enide's fault  
 **Breakdown** – Very depressing… don't read if you are easily depressed. I was really down when I wrote this and I think I was in need of therapy for this.  
 **Want** – a Valenwind with a Chaos and thong twist. O_o… I need therapy for a different reason for this one.  
 **Verso** – Renocentric time travel fic… I know, another one. I hope I twisted enough to make it interesting.

:plug:End of Shameless plug:plug::Plug is shameless::plug:End of shameless plug:plug:


	40. Frustration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** Well, it is a Yaoi fic, with the main paring of Zack and Cloud. There is something going on with Reno, but I am still making you guess on what that will be.

**Warning  
** Well, it is a Yaoi fic, with the main paring of Zack and Cloud. There is something going on with Reno, but I am still making you guess on what that will be.

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

Reno vents and gets drunk.  
Two new POVs that I introduce here, Rude and John's.  
Cloud takes out his frustration on his friends.  
Zack realized how royally he screwed up, let's hope that Cloud can forgive him.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **FRUSTRATION**

* * *

Rude took the vodka bottle from Reno's hand. Reno made a small sound of protest but was not trying to take the drink back. He drank a few sips out of the bottle but it seemed to be hitting him rather hard. He most assuredly had enough of the drink for one night.

"Buzz ya see," Reno slurred, "I dun know wha' to feel 'bout either of 'em." Rude had just heard Reno babble about Rufus and Sephiroth. "Zay are boff-both hot."

Rude was quite alarmed at the story that Reno told. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to the events that he had missed. "What do you want?" Rude asked. He knew his partner and could tell how confused he was.

"I dunno. Roofuss can kiss…um…kiss." Reno blinked a few times and a flush emerged on his cheeks.

~ _it normally takes a lot to make Reno blush~_

Rude didn't voice his thoughts. He was not happy being made aware that Rufus was teasing Reno. He was aware of the actions of where Rufus had entertained Genesis. He had been Rufus' bodyguard on a number of those occasions where the General would leave, looking confused, before he could gather his composure. He never told Reno about it and was now regretting not doing so. He doubted it would have made a difference. He didn't think Rufus' obsession with Genesis would affect Reno like this.

~ _who knew there were so many people with red hair fetishes around here?~_

Reno shook himself. "And Sephy is a fuckin' sizzlin'… I wonder wha he kisses like?" Reno giggled.

"I can't believe that you're contemplating either of them," Rude said as he watched Reno throw his head back with a silly smile on his face. He couldn't believe that Reno actually giggled. He could tell that Reno was interested, but at the same time confused. "Have you talked to Legend?"

"Pfft," Reno said almost throwing himself forward. "Wan's me ta find a girl."

Rude sighed. That was typical of Legend. He was still in denial about Reno being gay. Reno wasn't a flamer in public, but Rude was well aware of what he used to do before he came to the Turks, even if he didn't know a lot of the details. He knew what those tattoos on his cheeks meant. He didn't feel it was his place to ask any more detail or about the tattoos that covered his back. He knew it was because of his former lifestyle and it was something that he knew that Reno was trying to keep behind him. People were allowed secrets; they all had them.

"I drink a bit 'nother."

"I'll get you some water," Rude said as he walked to the kitchen to fetch his drunken partner a drink.

He heard the faint murmur from him as he left. "Wish ya were gay." It was a sentiment that Reno often said when he was drunk. He took it in stride. Reno had never hit on him or made advances, even if he voiced the wish. Rude knew that it was just his drunk self talking. He doubted that anyone but Legend had ever taken care of him before and he didn't mind his friends saying such things.

He brought a cup of water to him. He watched the bleary-eyed redhead drink it down as if he had been dying of thirst.

"What are you going to do?"

Reno made a loud gasping sound as he slammed the cup onto the coffee table. "I dunno. Roof is teasey. Seph is a fuckin' god an' scares me. I dunno if they really wan' me, ya kno'." The thought seemed to deflate the normally happy redhead. "I dun wanna be a game piece." Reno looked remarkably sad for a moment and Rude wished he could help out more. After hearing him talk, he understood a little bit of why he hid under the desk, even if he was curious about Sephiroth. As amusing as the hiding was, he could see that Reno almost regretted the decision.

Rude wished that he was better at understanding relationships. He had always failed in the past when it came to them. He was not an emotional or talkative person and he knew that worked to his disadvantage at times. He was grateful that Cissnei understood, being a Turk herself, and it made their relationship easier.

"If the Spike-Brains weren't so 'amn greedy, I'd do 'em." Reno leaned forward and grabbed the empty water glass.

Rude sighed. He knew that his partner had eyes for the men but he didn't think it went that far. Reno looked at a lot of guys but Rude thought he was smart enough to know when he should act on his certain feelings. Obviously he was thinking a lot about Cloud and Zack. "Cwoud's hands are…" Reno held his hands in front of him and wiggled his fingers. "Like, yeah."

Rude had no idea what that was supposed to mean and didn't ask. He had a feeling he didn't want to know.

"Ah!" Reno gave a shout that startled Rude until he saw that he was pulling out his phone. "Butt pictoor is awesome. Wanna see?"

Rude looked over his glasses at his drunken partner.

"Pfft. Come on. You'd even apress- apess," Reno gave a small sigh as he couldn't get the word out of his mouth, "like a good butt on a guy." Reno seemed to be having trouble trying to get to the menus on his phone.

"You can show me later," Rude said as he took it away from him.

Reno collapsed back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. "If ya coo'd have one, who'd ya pick, yo?"

Rude felt his eyebrows raise up. Reno always did things to shock him, but asking him that question was not something he was prepared for. Luckily Reno wasn't really waiting for an answer. "Ya know, I kinda wan' 'em all. Is tha' greedy?"

Rude shook his head. "Extremely. Like you could handle that." He stood to get Reno another glass of water.

Reno chuckled. "I guess."

Rude returned to see Reno with this tongue between his lips and that flush had returned to his face. Rude placed the glass in his partner's hand that was twitching slightly on the back of the couch.

"Wha's with you an' Sissy? Serious?"

~ _very serious~_

"We're fine," he said as he sat across from him. Reno's eyes were starting to droop. "You need to drink that before you pass out."

"She all smoochy wooshy-like," Reno mumbled. "It's kinda gross."

"Like I enjoy hearing you talk about guys," Rude grumbled. He put up with it, just as Reno had to put up with the other guys talking about girls. He just took it with a lot more grace than the others. Reno was never one for public shows of affection when he was with someone, at least, not when he was around. He had only seen his partner kiss a guy once and it was nothing like what he had been doing with Cissnei.

"I dun make ya watch," Reno said and downed the glass of water, some of it dribbling down his chin. He wiped the water away and collapsed onto the couch.

~ _he has a point there~_

He knew that she was going to be gone awhile with the latest mission and he didn't like the idea of her leaving. He knew that she could do the job. She was as capable a Turk as any, more than some, but he still wished that she was staying in Midgar. He hated that he was turning into a sap over her, but at the same time he was extremely happy with the direction of their relationship.

"You had yous hands all over," Reno whined.

Rude rolled his eyes. "It won't happen again." He never really thought that he would be the type of guy for public affection, but with the thought of Cissnei being away for a whole month, he didn't want to give up a chance to be with her. It did not help that Cissnei had her hand caressing his stomach and encouraging his own hands.

"Good," Reno said and stood up abruptly, which was a mistake on his part. Rude had to catch him as he swayed slightly, not wanting him to fall to the floor. "Oh. I think I had too much, yo."

Rude shook his head at his partner. He really didn't drink that much. He was pretty sure that most of it was due to the low-lying exhaustion that was lingering below the surface. He started to escort Reno to the bedroom. This would not be the first or last time he had to tuck him into bed.

"Yo, you are too good to me," Reno said. "I just wan' someone to be there, ya know?" Reno struggled with his shirt and Rude helped.

"I know," Rude said and for once, he did understand. Rude helped Reno into the bed.

"Rude?"

He looked down at his partner and waited for him to ask the question.

"Would it be so bad to try with someone like Sephiroth?" His voice was soft as he grabbed a pillow and hugged it to himself under the blankets. He reminded Rude very much of a child when he was like this.

He wanted to tell Reno that any of his current interests were probably not any good. He thought Sephiroth was a dangerous choice. "I don't think that any of them are a very good idea."

"Even Roofus?" Reno's voice was soft and almost a pleading tone, as if he wanted someone to be there for him.

"Even Rufus," Rude said as gently as possible.

Reno muttered something into his pillow.

"Sleep it off," Rude said simply and closed the door behind him. He cleaned up the takeout food containers and put the dishes in the washer before he left. He had to figure out how to deal with the General and the Vice-President, so that his partner wouldn't be hurt anymore.

* * *

Zack looked at his phone again and hoped that there was just something wrong with Cloud's.

~ _wishful thinking~_

"What's up?"

He looked to see Kunsel looking at him. He smirked slightly. It was humorous to see Kunsel with his shorn head, his hair still trying to grow back from when he got it shaved. It was why he wore his helmet most of the time.

"He's not answering his phone," he whispered as he tried to send a text instead of phoning. If he was not answering at least when he saw a text, after he calmed down, maybe he would talk to him.

He had come back home to such an empty apartment and to the painful sight of Cloud's key card on the kitchen counter.

Kunsel leaned closer and whispered, "Trouble in paradise with Cloud?" The snoop had a small knowing smirk on his face.

"Shut up." He glared at Kunsel. "How do you know about that anyway?"

Kunsel just smiled. "I know a lot of things."

Zack sighed, not bothering to ask how he found out. "I kinda screwed up and he's mad at me."

"What did you do?" Kunsel asked.

Zack sighed. Kunsel may have been his friend, but telling him that he left his boyfriend in the middle of sex to go take care of some demonic Genesis clones was not something that he was willing to share. He really wished he would have remembered to shut off his phone before he took Cloud to bed and this disaster would have never happened. The phone kept ringing so he knew it had to be urgent. He had meant to just shut it off, but after hearing where the clones were attacking, he couldn't not go.

~ _I was a idiot~_

"Come on. What did you do to piss him off? From what I could see, the kid is totally smitten with you," Kunsel said. "I thought you two were permanently placed in the bedroom."

Zack flushed and turned on Kunsel. "How the hell do you know this stuff?" He grumbled at his friend.

Kunsel flashed him a large smile that stretched across his face. "What happened? What did you do that made him not want to answer his phone?"

"I was an idiot," Zack muttered and hit send on his phone. He hoped Cloud would at least read the message. He planned on trying to call him again in an hour and hoped that he would answer.

"Well that is a given." Kunsel gave him a shove on the shoulder. Zack frowned at him. "I'm just joking, man. Are you okay?"

Zack pulled out the key card that kept rubbing in his pocket. He didn't expect Kunsel to understand the significance of it, but he saw a strange look on his face. Maybe he did understand what the card meant.

"Shit," Kunsel whispered and reached up with a comforting touch to his arm. "That bad?"

"Yeah." Zack slouched into the nearest chair, still staring at his phone, hoping that it would ring and that Cloud would be on the other end. "I'll try to catch him in the Mess at dinner."

"Do you want to talk about it? What happened?" Kunsel said. "What did you two fight about?"

"Well," Zack said rubbing the back of his neck. "It wasn't really a fight. I got called away and I kinda…"

~ _I left him high and dry~_

Zack looked at his feet and felt himself twisting as if he was being scolded. He did deserve to be scolded, after what he had done.

"Kinda?" Kunsel prompted and leaned forward as if he was waiting for more out of him.

"I left," Zack sighed and his shoulders slumped in a defeated look. "Now that I think about it, I don't think that he heard a thing I said when I was leaving." Zack was pretty sure from the look on Cloud's face that he only heard that he was leaving.

Kunsel examined him and Zack could feel the snoop trying to analyze him. "What were you doing?"

Zack shook his head. "I shouldn't have left. Not like that. It was so wrong, but when I got the message on my phone and it was urgent… my training kicked in and I had to go."

Kunsel patted his shoulder. "Well, you were on call, weren't you?"

Zack shook his head. "Actually, I was supposed to have time off," Zack whispered. He had told that to Cloud too. He was supposed to have two weeks off and he had planned on spending every moment he could with him and now, he was back on duty because of Genesis clones and lack of staffing.

~ _next time I see Genesis, I will make sure that he no longer causes problems for me anymore~_

Kunsel glared at him and then at the card in his hand. "You really fucked up, didn't you?"

Zack nodded and looked at his phone.

~ _please call, Cloud. I am so sorry for being an idiot~_

"Do you want me to go talk to him for you?"

Zack shook his head. "He'll come around." He felt a pain in his chest as he spoke and kept examining his phone, almost willing it to ring.

"Let's go get a coffee and you can tell me how much of a moron you are." Kunsel grabbed Zack's arm and started to drag him away. "Away from the security cameras."

* * *

John was staying out of Cloud's way and so was everyone else. The change in Cloud's mood was seen and felt by everyone.

"What the hell happened to piss Cloud off?" Joseph asked as they watched the normally tentative infantryman flip Cyrus onto his back and punch him hard in the chest before Instructor Clark separated the two.

"Shit," John whispered. He had never seen Cloud so intense for so long before. He had been looking happy last night when he left him after the burger that Zack had…

~ _Zack~_

Cloud was acting like a lovestruck fool when he left him and now he was on a complete rampage. He wondered if it was something that had happened after he left. He did remember Cloud coming back to the barracks, slamming his footlocker and throwing his boots so that they hit the wall. Someone had grumbled about how loud he was before it was quiet again.

~ _I hope it wasn't because I kinda butted my way into dinner~_

"Switch partners, and do it again!" Instructor Clark yelled. Cyrus was rubbing his chest and looking at Cloud a little tentatively as he moved next to him for the next practice bout. Cloud got ready for the next stint in the hand to hand combat training class and it was his turn to be paired up against Benot.

Benot was much larger than Cloud; he was a man that would soon rival Angeal for size once he developed a more mature set of muscles. Normally Cloud would be nervous being paired against him, as Benot overpowered him at every opportunity, but that was not how Cloud looked today.

John moved in front of Cyrus who was still rubbing his chest. "You okay?" Cyrus just grunted but looked over to where Cloud was squaring off against the larger man. "He just caught me by surprise," Cyrus said. John highly doubted that it was a lucky shot.

He knew Cloud well enough to know when he was focused and angry. He could accomplish anything and had seen it on missions before, even if he did appear to be clumsy in training. Everyone knew not to sit next to Cloud on a transport because he would get motion sickness. Others didn't want to partner with him because of that, but Cloud was always good in a pinch.

This was the first time he had seen Cloud this riled up.

~ _I hope I didn't wreck his night with Zack~_

"Now!" Instructor Clark yelled.

John focused on Cyrus' attack. He found his fighting partner clumsier than he normally was and was able to throw him and get him on the mat in record time. Cyrus was clutching at his chest. Cloud really had hurt him.

He heard a loud yell and his attention was turned to Cloud and Benot's struggle. Benot was on one knee and holding his stomach. Instructor Clark was there yelling about something. Cloud was looking like he was ready for more. His teeth were clenched and he was almost shaking.

"Decent work, Ladies. We'll do it again tomorrow so maybe you won't be such pussies!" Clark yelled. They must have done well today, because he didn't call them princesses and threaten to send them down to the Bumble Bee Inn to be fitted for tiaras.

Joseph moved to stand beside Cloud and put a hand on his tense arm. He didn't hear what Joseph said, but it was something that made Cloud turn his attention away from whatever aggressive thoughts were running through his head.

"Dork!" was what he heard Cloud yell, gave Joseph a shove before he stormed off to the showers.

"Wow, did his Sugar-Daddy not perform last night or something?" Cyrus was still rubbing his chest and there was a pained sound to his breathing. He even looked a little pale. Cloud must have hit him really hard.

Benot pulled himself to his feet. "Man. It still stings." He rubbed his stomach and grimaced. "I heard him stomp back into the barracks around midnight."

"He usually doesn't come back at all if he is out with his Sugar-Daddy." Cyrus gasped and held his chest. "He woke me up."

Joseph was even frowning as they watched some of the group heading to the showers before he turned his attention towards John. "You went out for dinner with him? Do you know what happened?"

Everyone looked at him.

~ _thanks for putting me on the spot, Joseph~_

"He was fine when I left him. I don't know what happened after that," John said, feeling very uncomfortable under their gaze.

"Well, it was only a matter of time," Benot said with a nasty curl to his lips. John rolled his eyes. Benot had his chance with Cloud and blew it. He needed to get over his jealousy. John just nodded.

Joseph frowned. "Well, Reno must have done something to upset him." They all rolled their eyes at Joseph. "Well, I'm sure that it's Reno!"

"Anyway," John said, ignoring the glare from his blue-haired friend. He could feel the eyes all on him. "He could be just having a bad day."

"He is pissed at the world. In instruction this morning I thought he was going to break his pen with how tight he was holding it," Benot said, moving to stand by Cyrus. He looked at his childhood friend with concern.

Cyrus grunted and held his chest and grew pale. "Shit," he said weakly. Benot's eyes grew wide as he had to hold up Cyrus to keep him from falling to his knees. "I think Cloud broke something."

"Instructor Clark!" Benot yelled as he helped Cyrus sink to the mat. John looked concerned as he saw that there was blood on his lips.

Cloud did break something. Instructor Clark was so concerned that he pulled out his Cure to treat Cyrus and then send him to the infirmary. Instructor Clark, the man that constantly told them scars would make them more of a man and had never used Cure, as far as they all knew, had used Cure..

"Go find out why Cloud has a bee in his bonnet," Benot said as he nearly dragged Cyrus at his side. He didn't look like he was in too much pain anymore, but he sure didn't look comfortable.

"Me?" John said as he realized that they were all looking at him, even Instructor Clark.

~ _why am I the psychologist?~_

"I'll go talk to him." He started to walk to the showers, trying to catch up to Cloud.

* * *

Cloud had already left the showers by the time he got in there so he started searching for him. He found Cloud in the Mess. He was going to go over to him, when Zack walked in. He saw Cloud's face tighten in anger as he threw down his fork and left his half-eaten food behind. Zack just spotted him before he left and looked like he was going to rush after him.

It was clear that there was something going on between the two, and it wasn't good. Zack spotted him and came towards him. He could see the worry written on the First Class SOLDIER's face. "Do you know where Cloud ran off to?"

"No. Not yet," John said and saw how tense Zack was and the worry that was filling his eyes. "What happened? Was it because I butted in on your dinner?" John was still a little worried that it was his fault that they were fighting.

"Huh? Oh. Dinner? No. It wasn't because of that," Zack said, his eyes focused on the door that Cloud left from. "He hasn't been answering his phone."

"He left it back at the barracks," John said. "He's pissed. What happened?" He doubted that Zack would really tell him, but he knew it had to be bad.

"He left his phone behind?" Zack whispered and looked at his own which he was gripping firmly in his hand. "Can you talk to him for me?" Zack's face was full of desperation.

John couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Yeah, I can. I'm trying to hunt him down."

"Can you tell him that I'm sorry?" Zack's voice was low. "Please, get him to call me. I really need to talk to him."

John sighed and crossed his arms. "You know, he's been taking his pissy attitude out on everyone else. I can't promise you anything."

Zack looked at his feet and rubbed the back of his head. "Just… try to get him to call me, so we can talk. I really am sorry." John would have been amused if he hadn't seen how upset Cloud was earlier. Zack had hurt him. He didn't know what Zack did, but he doubted that a simple 'I'm sorry' was going to fix it.

"Like I said, I won't promise anything. He did a number on Cyrus in training today. He has been taking out his anger on everyone else." John felt annoyed at Zack. He was the reason for Cloud's attitude change, and him being a counsellor in the whole thing.

"Just try. I hope he will check his messages. I'm sorry," Zack said and he saw him swallow as if he was holding back more words.

John sighed. "I will hunt him down and I will try."

"I'll be back at my place, if he wants to talk. If he doesn't want to do that, we can meet anywhere he wants." There was desperation in his voice. "Just get him to call me." Zack gave him such a pathetic look that it looked like he was going to be beat. "And tell him that I'm really sorry." He folded his arms across his chest and rubbed them. "And that it won't happen again." He looked around the room as if he was hoping that Cloud would appear. "And I will cook him dinner." Zack racked his lips over his teeth. "And …"

"Enough. I'll talk to him." John raised his hands to get Zack to stop apologizing. Zack's large violet eyes looked almost lost. "I'll talk to him and I'll get him to call you, even if I have to dial it myself. Okay?"

Zack sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Thanks, John. I really appreciate it if you could, and I'm so sorry."

"I'm not the one that you need to be apologizing to. I'm going to try to hunt him down," John said. He was glad to see that for whatever Zack did, he was sorry, but he wasn't going to find Cloud listening to him.

Zack nodded and looked at his phone, his thumb brushing over the numbers. "Thanks."

John sighed, gave Zack's arm a quick pat and trudged off to go see if he could find Cloud, leaving a forlorn-looking SOLDIER behind.

* * *

It took him another two hours to find Cloud. He was leaving a grumpy trail behind him. Cloud had gone to the materia training room and had blown up a few things there. The poor clerk seemed rattled as he was replacing the destroyed practice dummies.

He then traced Cloud to the library where he had sat for a half-an-hour. The study steward was a little perturbed by the mess of papers that Cloud left behind. John took a look at the scribbles and it appeared that Cloud had been trying to work on his dissertation for the 'History of Materia' class, but was not succeeding. He saw twenty pieces of paper with twenty different headings, and not much else.

He finally found Cloud back at his bunk, lying with a book covering his face.

"Cloud?"

"What?" Cloud didn't remove the book. He crossed his legs and was giving off a major pissed-off vibe.

"You certainly were on today in training," John said, suddenly not knowing how he was going to broach this subject.

Cloud grunted in response. He removed the book from his face and looked over at him. "Whatever," Cloud muttered and placed the book back into its former resting place. John was used to Cloud being evasive at times, but this was ridiculous.

John sat on the cot beside Cloud. He heard Cloud grunt in displeasure but he didn't move. "What happened between you and Zack last night?"

"Nothing," Cloud muttered beneath the book.

"Nothing? You hurt Cyrus in training! Clark _used_ Cure on him and you say nothing happened?" John couldn't help but let annoyance colour his voice. Cloud removed the book from his face and looked at him. "What the hell happened? I had Zack asking me to apologize to you and I can still hear your phone beeping at the bottom of your footlocker. You're going to talk to me about whatever the hell happened."

Cloud grunted again. John could see that every part of him was tense and looked like he was going to bolt. John was not going to allow that. If he was forced to be the mediator in all this, he was going to get it done now. John grabbed the book from Cloud and threw it across the room, so he wouldn't have another chance to hide behind it.

"What the hell?" Cloud said and sat up. "I don't want to talk about it!"

"Well, you're gonna! Cyrus had blood coming out of his mouth because of how hard you hit him. He wasn't the one that pissed you off," John said, glad to see that saying that he had hurt Cyrus got to him.

"I did?"

"Yeah, you did." John sighed heavily. "Cyrus is okay. I got a couple of texts from Benot and they are just doing some tests to make sure that the rib bone is set properly so it won't re-puncture his lung."

Cloud blinked a few times and it seemed to dissolve the impossibly hot anger that he was holding. "I hit him that hard?"

"You did. You almost downed Benot too."

Cloud moved so that he was sitting, and he looked at his hands.

"What happened with Zack to get you so pissed off? He looked like a lost puppy. He has been trying to get you on the phone."

Cloud sighed heavily. The anger flared in his eyes again but it wasn't as intense as before. "I don't want to talk to him right now."

"I get that."

Cloud clenched his hands hard against his thighs.

John could see a million thoughts rolling through his mind. "Zack said he was sorry."

"He better damn well be!" Cloud blurted. His hand turned into fists against his legs and he stared at them.

"Can you tell me what happened?" John asked, giving Cloud's clenched hands a pat. "You guys were fine when I left."

"It _was_ fine. It _was_ great," Cloud said through clenched teeth. His whole body was full of tension.

John waited for an answer. He knew Cloud well enough that it sometimes took him a little while to get talking, especially if something was bothering him. He still wouldn't tell anyone anything about his hometown or why he joined SOLDIER. He was going to make sure that he got an answer today. He was not going to be the go-between for everyone trying to figure out what was wrong.

"He left!" Cloud finally said and looked up at him. He could see the hurt in his eyes.

"Did he get called away for a mission?" John asked, trying to probe more out of Cloud.

Cloud nodded.

"I thought he was on leave." John remembered him saying something to that extent.

"So did I! His stupid phone rang and … and…" Cloud's voice trailed off and he unclenched his fists to cover his face with his hands. "He _left_!" He ran his hands up his face and through his hair.

"Were you sleeping or something?" John asked.

"He. Left!" Cloud said, putting his hands back into fists in his lap. The anger was coming back in full force and John could hear the phone ringing inside Cloud's footlocker. "I can't talk to him yet. He left."

"Okay. I get it. He left, but he is a First Class SOLDIER. You have to expect that to happen from time to time."

"There are certain times that you just don't leave!" Cloud stood abruptly and looked at his footlocker. "If he didn't answer his damn phone… He could have waited until…" The phone beeped in the locker. Cloud kicked it. "There are things you do not leave in the middle of!"

John did not like the mental images he was getting. "So, you were making out and…"

"Damn it! It was not just a make-out session on the couch. _He left!_ " Cloud hissed between his teeth and kicked the locker again. The phone beeped as if it were protesting the treatment. He kicked it a few more times and then sat hard on the bed, his hands covering his face, and his elbows on his knees. "He… he just left." Cloud's voice no longer held any anger but it was full of heart-twisting sorrow.

John knew that Cloud was enamoured with Zack; half the guys in the barracks had an infatuation with one of the elite First Class SOLDIERs. Of course, Cloud was dating…

~ _well, more than just dating~_

…Zack. Not that anyone knew that they were dating, as they had chosen to keep their relationship a secret. The only reason he knew was because he was pretty sure that Cloud trusted him not to tell everyone. Even though he hadn't directly said it, he hadn't denied it either.

But he was also sure that if Cloud had been ignoring his phone, he didn't hear what happened last night either and John was sure that it was the reason that Zack left. "Did you not hear what he did last night?"

"I know what he did last night," Cloud spoke into his hands. John sat beside his friend and rubbed his back. "I am very aware of what he _didn't do_ last night."

"You didn't listen to any of the briefings and news?" John asked. He knew Cloud had been there sitting right beside him, but he doubted that he was listening. Cloud shook his head, but didn't remove his hands from his face. "You know that some more of those clones attacked, right?"

"I heard something about that," Cloud murmured. Zack must have told him the reason for his urgent departure.

"They were attacking Sector 5. Did Zack tell you that?" John said softly. Cloud pulled his face out of his hands and looked at him. He let it sink in for a little bit. Everyone knew that was where the orphanage and the long-term care hospital were located. It was also known as the 'Despair' sector by some. Everyone had to do a 'volunteer' stint there at one point and even a large number of people had grown up in that said orphanage.

"You are part of his fan club right?"

Cloud blushed but nodded.

"Well, if you would have checked your phone, you would have known that Zack saved a bunch of orphans by showing up when he did," John said. "Those clones were looking for more recruits, from what the reports said." Cloud still didn't say anything, but John could see some of his anger melting a bit. "Zack is the hero type," John continued, "if there is someone in danger, he is going to run into battle to save them. I saw the callout request. They were going after the kids."

"Shit," Cloud muttered and put his face back in his hands. John rubbed Cloud's back.

They sat in silence for a little while. Cloud was obviously gathering his thoughts, when he finally said, "Can you get me my phone?" in a small voice.

John obliged.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Can you believe that I made it to 40 chapters… wow. I thought I would be done by now, but I have fleshed out the story quite a bit from my original plan, but you shall be all glad to know, that the direction did not change. My evil plan in still on its evil way! Just with more detail that I originally planned.

 **Pandering**

Pic Alert! Pic alert! From Junon (delete spaces and cut and paste into your browser... the link works on my profile as well)  
http:/ jadedsilk. deviantart. com /gallery/#/d2p9rd8  
Dark Nation tries to snack on Reno ... It is absolutely lovely and I love it to death. I love how pissed both Dark Nation and Reno look. I mean… perfection! (Except for I told her to dress Rufus wrong… my bad… But I still so love, so ignore it and enjoy the pissed DN and Reno)

Additional story alert - **Marshmallow** \- Written for Ziggy, because she gave me the strange cue under that 10 first contest thingy thing that is torturing me, but I did it.


	41. Resolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… Yaoi.

**Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and possibly others (not telling yet ) fic… Yaoi.

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…  
Again, Joseph is a jerk!  
Sephiroth gives relationship advise? I know, but he does, and it's good.  
Reno… well, poor Reno.  
Cloud and Zack talk, sort of.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **RESOLUTION**

* * *

Reno frowned as he walked into the infirmary. He hated the hospital smell and stuffy people looking all important in their lab coats and silly name badges. He usually avoided the place like a plague.

But Legend had called him and he sounded awful. He was about to ask the nurse where his mentor was, when someone yelled in the hall.

"You!"

He looked over to see the blue-haired freak coming right at him. "What did you do to Cloud?" The boy yelled and poked him in the chest.

"Wha?" Reno said.

"You did something bad to him! What. Did. You. Do?" Joseph poked him rather hard at each word. Reno grabbed the finger and twisted the weirdo's arm behind his back. Joseph let out a satisfying scream as Reno threw him on the floor and refrained from stomping on him.

He could see some more of his friends around the corner. One of them was laughing and the other was shaking his head, but none of them dared to approach. "What the fuck is your problem!" Reno growled. "I didn't do nothin' to Cloud."

~ _I can only dream~_

"You had to have!" Joseph said as he cradled his injured finger. "Why else would he be so upset?"

"Cloud's upset?" Reno asked. "What's he upset about?" The last time he talked to Cloud he was looking quite happy and love-drunkenly-stupid.

"That's what I am asking you!" Joseph said as he pulled himself to his feet and rubbed his shoulder.

"I didn't do anythin'," he snapped at the annoying blue-haired man.

That was when one of his friends came forward. Reno remembered him as Benot. He grabbed Joseph's arm. "Sorry, sir, he's a little nuts."

Reno grunted and glared at Joseph. "I think some of that hair dye has seeped into your brain."

"Hey!" Joseph yelled and crossed his arms in a pout.

Benot chuckled and the other guy he remembered as Cyrus, laughed but then clutched at his chest with a groan. Benot patted Cyrus on his back and was giving the obviously injured man a concerned look. "Cloud has been acting a little strange lately. Do you know if something happened to him?" Benot asked.

Reno shook his head. "I'll ask 'em next time that I see him," Reno said and was a little worried now.

Joseph stood and glared at him. "Hello! He's the one that upset him!"

Reno wanted to kick Joseph back to the ground but the nurse clearing her throat behind him grabbed their attention. "If you gentlemen are going to fight, can you please take it out of here? You," she said and pointed to Cyrus, "need to go and rest those ribs."

"Yes, ma'am," Cyrus whispered as he rested a hand on his chest.

"You need to leave again, Joseph. I already told you to keep it down at least three times in the last hour," she berated.

"Sorry, ma'am." Joseph hung his head.

"I thought a Turk would have a little bit more control." It took Reno a moment to realize that he was now being scolded.

He opened his mouth to protest but one look at the angry look on the nurse's face changed his mind, not wanting to get in an argument now. "Sorry, ma'am."

"Now be a good boy, Benot, and take your noisy friends out of here," she said and pointed to the door.

Benot nodded and started to head out. It looked like Joseph was ready to continue his arguing, but Reno narrowed his eyes at him. "Yo, ya wantin' a bed here or somethin'?"

Joseph gave a little grunt but followed behind his friends. He turned back to the nurse who was giving him a heavy scowl.

~ _I'm used to Tseng, you can't faze me~_

"I'm here to see Ledge," he said, ignoring her angry look.

She frowned and looked at her computer screen. "Ledge?"

"Legend," he repeated. "He called me earlier."

She looked up again. "Oh." Her voice changed dramatically and her face softened. "You must be Reno. He is in room 34B. The doctor will be there shortly."

He felt a horrible sinking feeling in the depths of his stomach. He didn't know why Legend was in the infirmary, but seeing the change of mood the nurse made, made him think that this was not some little thing.

"Thanks, Doll." He walked down the hall to the room, avoiding people who looked as if they should not have left their bed, and found the room where Legend was sitting. He looked absolutely horrible. His skin was ashen in colour and he looked so much smaller than he had in the past. He was not wearing his Turk suit, but a simple pair of sweatpants and an overly-baggy white t-shirt.

Legend nodded as he walked into the room and motioned him to the chair. Reno walked slowly in, not taking his eyes off his mentor. "What happened?" Reno finally asked.

Legend tried to smile, but it looked like he was forcing it. "Lungs don't like the Midgar air." He wheezed a bit. He looked like he was going to say more but then a doctor came in. Reno didn't recognize the guy, but he wore the stuffy white coat and name tag that said, 'Dr. Frellin'.

Dr. Frellin seemed nice enough. He introduced himself with a soft voice and quiet bedside manner. Reno listened to the doctor talk and the whole time his only thoughts were about the first words which were complicated, long, and scientific-sounding. When he asked what it meant, the doctor said that Legend's lung capacity was dangerously low.

"I am recommending that you go back to Costa Del Sol. The air there is better for your lungs and it will be more comfortable for you."

He heard the words that doctor didn't say and just about wanted to scream at him, but he remained silent as he went though the list of stuff that Legend had to do.

The doctor left and they were alone in the room. They stared at each other for a bit. "So, you're goin' to Costa Del Sol," Reno finally said.

Legend nodded. "The medicine didn't work last night."

"How bad was it?" Reno asked softly and looked at Legend, who wasn't able to look at him. He was staring at his hands that were in his lap.

Legend shrugged. "I'm here, ain't I?"

Reno could only look at him. He was at a loss for words. He didn't want to say any of the bad things out loud because then that made it real, and he didn't want anything that the doctor said was going to happen to actually happen.

"Can you fly me?" Legend said. "I haven't talked to Tseng yet, but I think he suspects that I will need to go back into retirement." He gave a small cough and rubbed his chest. "I am not as efficient as I used to be."

"Shit," Reno muttered. "When can ya go?"

"They want to try to get my blood oxygen level a little higher, without me having to be on a tank," Legend said and rubbed his face. "As soon as I am well enough, I guess."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a little while. "You could ask Tseng to transfer you there," Legend said and gave him a hopeful look.

Reno knew where Legend was going with this. "You know I can't do that," he whispered.

He heard Legend give out a large sigh, that sounded way too raspy to be healthy, before he straightened himself up and tried to smile. "Well, food around here sucks. They won't let me out, so can you fetch me somethin' a little tastier than the lumpy porridge that they brought?"

Reno snorted. "Yo, the Mess food sucks too."

"At least get me something that has some protein for lunch." Legend almost sounded like he was whining. "I need something greasy and covered with gravy. I'm trying to get my strength back up."

Reno nodded and smiled. Legend may have introduced him to good food that spoiled him for the other crap, but the man still ate the horrible stuff. "Sure, whatever. Ya want me to talk to Tseng too?"

Legend rubbed his chin. "Yeah, but I don't want him running around here. He'll make the nurses all nervous."

~ _what does that mean?~_

"I'm going to catch a couple of winks. I'm a little tired. Wake me up when you bring me the food," Legend said as he crawled under his blankets.

It broke Reno's heart to see him like that. He looked so … old.

~ _and so unlike the Legend that rescued me~_

"Sure thing," Reno said, putting on a brave face.

* * *

Sephiroth frowned and looked over at Zack. The man was obviously distracted and spent most of his time staring at the wall. The only thing he seemed focused on was the phone and the wilting pale yellow flower that he had pulled out of his pocket.

He let his attention go to the bowl of fruit that he had on his desk. His fan club always supplied him with a fresh bowl of fruit every Monday morning, trying to convince him to do an interview. He had told them repeatedly that he would not, but the fruit still appeared every week. He pulled out a red apple and held it firmly in his hand.

He was supposed to be getting the debriefing from Zack on what occurred in Sector 5, but trying to get the information out of him was like pulling teeth. He highly doubted that he was paying attention to a word he said.

~ _let's test that theory out~_

"And the President wants us to all dress in drag and go down to the Wall Market and see if we can create more revenue for the company."

"Sure, when do we go?" Zack said in a lost voice, still staring at the bare wall.

Sephiroth threw an apple at him and it bounced off his head. He watched as Zack rubbed the spot on his head where it hit. "What the hell was that for?"

"You haven't listened to anything that I said," Sephiroth said in a stern voice.

"What? I have so! Ow. That hurt, you know," he said while rubbing the spot where he hit him.

"Then what did I say?" he demanded and looked stern, trying to capture the stunned blue eyes of his fellow First.

"Something about Wall Market and raiding it." Zack continued to rub the back of his neck and was giving him a confused look.

~ _at least he heard something I said~_

"You are far from focusing and this is important," Sephiroth lectured. "What is wrong with you?"

Zack slumped and stared at his phone and started talking. "John said he would call. Kunsel told me to give him a little more time to call back. Aerith said that it would be just a matter of time. John said that he listened to my messages. Kunsel said that he just has to think things through. Aerith gave me this flower for him. John said that he had cooled down. Kunsel said that I should just go talk to him, but what if he isn't ready yet? John said …"

"Stop," Sephiroth said, unable to make any sense of his babble. Zack gave him a look that he thought was reserved only for lost puppies. "What are you trying to say?"

"Cloud is mad at me," Zack said and slumped in his chair. Sephiroth resisted the urge to roll his eyes and was about to say something, but Zack started to talk again. "I know I screwed up, but he just has to talk to me and he won't answer his phone and he left his key card, and …"

"Zack," Sephiroth said firmly. Zack looked up at him with his large, sad eyes. "You need to focus."

"Sorry."

~ _Angeal had the right nickname for him~_

"You are not making sense."

"Sorry."

"I get that you and Cloud are having difficulties …"

"I screwed up and …"

"Zack!"

He slouched further in his chair. Sephiroth sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. "What have you done other than phone to apologize?" Sephiroth didn't want the details. He knew that a simple phone call was never a sufficient way to apologize for any reason.

Genesis had taught him that much.

The silence he got from Zack told him that he had done nothing. He fingered the flower in his breast pocket.

"Did you try to talk to him?"

"His phone …"

"Not on his phone. In person," Sephiroth said in a firm voice to try to get through to him. Genesis would never answer the phone when he was pissed off and was known to actually break the device. He was the type of person to let cool down first and then go talk to him in person.

~ _yet, he still left~_

"When I walked into the cafeteria, he saw me and he ran away," Zack said and fiddled with the flower.

"Did you go after him?"

"He looked so mad," Zack said, looking at his lap.

Sephiroth sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. "Even I know, you follow after, then talk to the person you pissed off."

"But I really pissed him off," Zack said. "I don't know if he'll forgive me."

"And running away from it makes it better?" Sephiroth said and knew he sounded a little bitter.

~ _after all, it's what Genesis ended up doing to me~_

"Well, no."

Sephiroth looked at the young man. Zack had always worn his emotions on his sleeve and they could always read what the normally chipper man was thinking. Angeal said that was a good quality to have to relate to the other troops and something that he had to work on. Sephiroth had never mastered it.

"Then why are you sitting here? You aren't any use to me all distracted. We will talk about this report after you have straightened things out with your friend," Sephiroth said, closing the folder in front of him. He could get most of the information he needed from the surveillance cameras anyway.

Zack sat there for a moment gaping.

"Go!" Sephiroth said with a wave of his hand. Zack blinked twice before he bounded off his chair and ran out the door.

"Thanks, Sephiroth. You're the best, man!" Zack promptly yelled, nearly tripping on the apple that Sephiroth had thrown earlier, before he disappeared out of the office.

Sephiroth reached for a piece of fruit, a blue apple, and took a bite. It was the only thing that he had ever eaten out the basket and they were becoming rarer. He was going to miss the memories that he got from the taste of the odd-coloured fruit.

* * *

"Cloud!"

Cloud looked up to see Reno walking over to him. Cloud smiled at the sight of the redhead. He had a bag of food in one hand as Reno walked over and sat across from him. Cloud was glad to see him. He needed someone to talk to and Reno was always someone that he trusted and felt comfortable with.

"What is up with your freak of a friend?" Reno asked as he placed the greasy bag of Mess food to the side.

Cloud blinked and frowned. "Who?"

"That blue-haired flamer that's pretendin' to be an infantryman," Reno said. "He attacked me and accused me of upsettin' you, yo."

Cloud shook his head and sighed. He wished he would have knocked Joseph on his ass. The guy deserved it for asking him if his Sugar-Daddy was not buying him enough presents.

"So, is there something true to him saying that you're down about somethin'?" Reno said and then lowered his voice. "Is it about Zack?"

Cloud looked at his food and was suddenly not hungry any longer, so he pushed the plate to the side. He looked up at Reno who looked as if he was waiting for him to say something.

"Do you have a bit?" Cloud asked.

"Sure," Reno said and his voice was laced with concern. "What's up?"

Cloud looked around and leaned forward. "Can we talk somewhere a little more private? I don't want anyone to overhear."

"Sure."

Cloud got up and he followed Reno as they walk to a quieter corner. Cloud gripped his phone again. Zack hadn't tried calling him in four hours and he had no idea how he could approach Zack. Every time he saw his number, he was angry and upset, and confused as hell as to what to say.

He understood, but that didn't make him any less angry about the situation. He didn't know how to answer the phone or what to say. He figured that Reno would know how he could deal with this situation.

"So, is it about Zack? Did you two have a fight or somethin'?" Reno asked as he pulled himself up so that he was sitting on the table. Cloud stood near him so that he wouldn't have to speak too loudly.

"Yeah," he whispered. He didn't know how to ask the questions he wanted to have answered, and he found himself staring at the phone in his hand. "I'm still mad at him a bit, but not as much."

"What happened?" Reno asked in a low whisper as he leaned forward.

Cloud saw the concerned look on the face of the Turk. He realized that he trusted Reno more than he trusted John and definitely more than he trusted Joseph. "It's a little hard to talk about this."

Reno's eyes grew wide. "How'd he hurt ya?"

Cloud could feel Reno's eyes darting over him and he looked a little angry. It caused Cloud to smile a little bit to see that he was angry over Zack hurting him. Cloud explained to Reno the only way he could, "He got a phone call and … and he left."

Reno tilted his head and looked at him confused. "Huh? He left? What is the big deal about that unless you two were … oh," Reno said, at last understanding. "Shit. He left in the middle of you two gettin' all cuddly."

Cloud blushed at not only how Reno worded it but how quickly Reno figured it out. The air quotes that he gave when he said the word, 'cuddly' didn't help either.

"Have you talked to him yet?"

"That's kinda where I need your help," Cloud said as he looked down at his phone. "I was a little rash and I left my key card back at his place and he's tried to call me, but I just don't know what to say back to him. I'm still mad, but I just don't know." Cloud felt like a fool with his babbling. He couldn't get the thoughts straight.

"Well, you certainly have every right to be upset," Reno said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "What was the first thing you did when he pissed you off?"

Cloud shrugged. "I kinda just stormed off to the shower, got angrier at the thought of him answering the phone right in the middle of …" Cloud stopped and sighed. He had just about said it. "Anyway, on my way out, I decided that I didn't want to be left like that and so I just put my card on the counter and locked the door behind me."

Reno's eyes grew wide at the statement. "How mad were you?"

Cloud shrugged. "I kinda hurt Cyrus in training. They had to heal him."

Reno's eyebrows shot up and he gave a huge grin. "Hot damn. You're a sure spitfire when you're angry! Cyrus? Yo, is that why they were in the infirmary?"

"Yeah," Cloud whispered, a little ashamed that he let his temper run away with him like that. He just wanted to hit ...

~ _Zack~_

… something to make them understand how much pain that he was in because of his actions, and it seemed that Cyrus got in his way. He had to remember to apologize to him for hurting him so bad.

"How mad are you now?"

"I still can't answer the phone when he calls. I don't know what to say to him," Cloud said and looked into Reno's eyes. "We were having such a good night. We went out to a movie and had a nice dinner. It was perfect!"

~ _until he left~_

"And?" Reno whispered. "What else?"

"He left," Cloud whispered back. "He left me. His phone rang and then I don't remember a thing he said to me, I just watched him leave and I felt … felt … used."

Reno made a small scoffing laugh. "Know the feeling."

~ _what does he mean by that?~_

"Do you want to forgive him?" Reno asked next.

Cloud nodded. He did want to forgive him but he was still upset over the whole situation. He didn't know what to say or how to tell Zack how he felt about it.

Reno blinked at him and got a serious look on his face. "Okay, first off ..." Reno leaned close. "You make him all apologize to you. Really beg for your forgiveness, yo."

"What? Make him beg?" Cloud whispered.

"I know that you like doing that." Reno chuckled and winked. Cloud tried not to blush. "It'll come to you if you go talk to him. I know he really cares for you. You can tell by how he looks at you," Reno said in a more serious tone.

"If he cared so much about me, why would he leave like that?"

Reno shook his head and chuckled. "Zack is the hero type. He can't help but do stuff like that, and you'll hafta learn to live with that. He's always goin' to run off to save people. He's just that way. I mean, I would give anythin' to have a guy like that on my arm," Reno said a bit whimsically and touched his arm. "Would you change that about him, yo?"

"No," Cloud whispered. He wouldn't want Zack to not be the hero he wanted to be.

~ _the hero that he is~_

It would not be Zack if he didn't run off and save the world. It was who and what he was. "I wouldn't want that to change."

"So," Reno said sharply and leaned away from him. "You make him feel super guilty, make him buy you dinner, clothes and some good booze."

Cloud let a smile cross his lips. "Is that what you do to your Sugar-Daddys?"

Reno gave him a small push. "Just go find him and then ya can have some great make-up sex, yo."

Cloud gasped and stammered over a response. Reno laughed and hopped down from the table, running a hand across his shoulder. "I gotta go. If you still need to talk, I'll be around." He grabbed the bag of food. "I'm just gonna be hangin' with Ledge."

"Is everything alright with Legend?" Cloud asked as he looked at the bag.

"As well as can be expected."

~ _he looks worried~_

"I gotta go," Reno said. "Ledge's grub is gettin' cold and he doesn't like nuked food, yo."

Cloud nodded and looked back at his phone and contemplated calling. Reno placed both his hands on his shoulders and forced him to look at him in the eye. "Go talk to Zack. You'll know what to say when ya talk to him. Ya look at him like a lovestruck idiot, too."

Cloud frowned at him as he watched him leave.

He felt a little better about starting to talk to Zack, but he was still very nervous about the prospect. He really still didn't know what he was going to say or how mad he was going to be at seeing him in person.

* * *

Reno doubted that he had to have a harder conversation in his life. He thought he rode the roller coaster of his emotions quite well.

He pushed back the thoughts of breaking up the Spike-Brains and then he could happily be there to comfort him and make things all better. But he couldn't do it. Cloud just looked so lost and …

~ _cute~_

… and he couldn't do it. The expression on Cloud's face stopped him.

As Cloud walked away, the blond stared at his phone as if he was willing it to ring. Reno could only sigh as he grabbed the bag of food for Legend and tried not to be depressed at how his life and love life was sucking so hard at the moment.

* * *

Zack was nervous as he looked for Cloud nearly everywhere. He followed the trail of sightings as he walked through nearly every corner of the Shin-Ra building. He was determined to run up to him and tell him that he was a fool and beg for forgiveness, and then give him the biggest hug and kiss so that he would feel absolutely smothered.

He would treat Cloud to anything he wanted. He would take him to dinner, a movie, ice cream, whatever was in his power he would get him, because he didn't deserve being left like that. He would say he was sorry until he was blue in the face and kiss every part of him to make it all better until he was forgiven.

Then he spotted him.

Cloud was walking down the hall with his helmet under his arm and his face half hidden in his muffler and Zack just about lost his nerve.

Cloud didn't see him right away but he was looking a little lost as he walked down the hall. He waited for Cloud to see him.

~ _please, don't run~_

Cloud's noticed him finally. Cloud's face hardened and his jaw tightened but he did not run. He stood stiff and clutched his helmet tighter to his side while the other hand clenched into a fist.

~ _he's still mad~_

He walked slowly towards him. Cloud crossed his arms, folding his helmet into his stomach, and his normally soft blue eyes were hard and narrow. Zack swallowed hard as he approached him and did the only thing he could think of. He pulled the flower out of his pocket and held it out for Cloud.

He was absolutely horrified when a single yellowish petal from the lily floated to the ground. He watched it fall, feeling his stomach sinking with it in absolute horror.

~ _fail~_

He was afraid to look up, even though he was still seeing Cloud's shoes. He didn't want to see the rejection on his face. He waited for Cloud to storm away and leave him standing there looking like a fool.

"Sorry," he whispered, still not taking his eyes off the pathetic broken flower petal that lay at his feet.

~ _what if he runs away? What if he doesn't forgive me? What if he hates me now? Damn flower. Why did I take advice from Sephiroth? Why won't Cloud say something?~_

He felt a gloved hand touch his. He raised his sight to see Cloud's fingers pluck what remained of the wilted and wrinkled flower out of his fingers. He let it go and watched as Cloud brought the flower to his nose and breathed in deeply.

"I was an idiot," Zack whispered and looked into those beautiful blue eyes.

"Yes, yes, you are."

Zack couldn't control the slumping of his shoulders as the pain in his chest grew. Cloud then smiled and the tightness in his chest was replaced with warmth. "You can buy me a drink while you tell me how much of a moron you are."

Zack blinked and processed the words before he realized that he wasn't being shunned and that Cloud was going to give him another chance.

* * *

What a 'Dwah' moment there at the end.

What is there to say…. It's done. Finally. They are back together! Yeah… and Poor Reno, just because I really am making him suffer. I will have to do something to make it up to him soon.

 **AUTHOR PANDERING, *sigh* yet again folks.**

Another story - POOL - A RenoxRude fic, where Rude tries to make Reno feel better over a game of pool - I drew a pic…fist one in years. Be nice, eh. http:/ albedosreqium .deviantart. com/gallery/#/d2qclab

Yet another – LACE - A YazooxKadaj fic. Yazoo is bored and become fascinated with curtains. And there is a teaser, bela, who is saying she will be drawing a fic…. O.O', Yazoo in lace… is so drool worthy.

And wow, another – BET - A Reeve, Tseng and Vincent friendship ficlet. You all know that Reeve has a gambling problem, right?

All pics do have links in my profile, they are working at the moment, just so you know.


	42. Make Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** A Zack and Cloud and others fic… Yaoi.

**Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and others fic… Yaoi.

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

Okay, Sappage for the Clackage… Because Zack has to make up for a lot.  
A little bit of Sephy – and he is stalkerific- and Reno… Reno walks away with a smile at least this time.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **MAKE UP**

* * *

Sephiroth finally figured out Reno's new routine. He had to scour through all the surveillance videos to determine his new pattern. He watched the redhead move down the hall, heading away from the infirmary, with his head hanging low.

Sephiroth was aware of the circumstances that made it so that he was in the hospital every day, and was aware of Legend's failing health. He was also aware of the Turk's schedule and how badly it conflicted with his.

"Reno," he called.

Sephiroth could see Reno's body tense up at the sound of his voice before he turned and looked at him. "Yeah?" Reno tried to stand there casually but Sephiroth knew the signs of someone who was ready to spring into action.

~ _more like run~_

"I need to have some words with you."

"Oh," Reno said nervously. Sephiroth could see the blue eyes darting around the small hall.

~ _we are going to have our talk today~_

"What about?" Reno snapped his gum. Sephiroth found himself smiling at the sight.

"About next Friday," Sephiroth said. He saw no need to evade the subject if he was going to get what he wanted out of this. Rufus could tease him; he wasn't going to let this game go on longer than it needed. Sephiroth was going to make it very clear what his expectations were and hope that the Turk was willing.

~ _I highly doubt that he will not be~_

"What about Friday?" Reno raised an eyebrow at him.

"My time is limited. Shall we talk over here?" Sephiroth pointed to a small empty coffee room. He had observed that it was hardly used and the perfect place for them to have a little … conversation. He would have preferred to call Reno to his office but he highly doubted that he could convince the Turk to show up with his previous antics of hiding under his desk.

He could see Reno visibly swallow but he went into the small alcove. Sephiroth was glad to see him do so and followed behind the Turk.

~ _and a fine behind it is~_

Reno turned and Sephiroth forced his eyes up to meet his. "So, what about Friday, yo?"

Sephiroth stood in front of him and looked down. Reno was looking nervous but also had a look of anticipation mixed with a heavy weariness. It was understandable with the stress that the Turk had been through. Sephiroth remembered how Reno had looked like he had wanted to reach out and touch him in the helicopter. He was well aware of how people wanted to touch his hair and Reno's fingers had twitched when his hair draped over his shoulder.

~ _want to have his hair draped over mine~_

"I was hoping that you would join me in my apartment that night, around five." Sephiroth leaned forward and lowered his voice. "If you're interested."

Reno's eyes grew wide. He opened his mouth and looked as if he was going to say something, but quickly snapped his mouth shut and swallowed hard. He made a soft cough and cleared his throat. "Shit, you made me swallow my gum." He ran his hand over his throat before he continued further. "What do ya have in mind, yo?" Reno said and leaned against the counter, trying to be casual.

Sephiroth only knew how to react from his experiences. When he had been asked the same question by Genesis about what he had in store for him, he had not initially understood that the bedroom was the destination that the fiery redhead had in mind. He did what Genesis did to him. He moved forward, placing his hands on his slender hips of the man and leaned in to capture the cinnamon-flavoured mouth.

Reno made a small grunting sound, but he did not resist. His lips were a little stiff in response but Sephiroth was sure that he just needed to get over the initial shock. He pushed and lifted Reno so that he was sitting on the counter and he placed himself between the legs of the Turk, keeping their bodies close together. Reno started to cautiously return the kiss and Sephiroth used the opening lips to his advantage, thrusting his tongue into his mouth to taste him better.

He was glad that Reno was eager. even though he noticed that Reno's hands were clutched at his sides.

~ _that will not do~_

He pulled away from the kiss. Reno panted and stared at him with large blue eyes. Sephiroth reached beneath the redhead's jacket and stroked his sides gently. "I am not Rufus. You're allowed to touch."

Reno shivered and groaned. The rigidness in his arms left him, and Sephiroth could see the hesitation as Reno reached forward and placed his hands on his shoulders. Sephiroth leaned in and was pleased to have Reno meet him for the kiss with a lot more vigour than before.

He allowed the redhead to lead the kiss. His lips moved slowly and his tongue tentatively reached forward. Sephiroth allowed his tongue to meet his and stroked the warm, soft muscle. Reno made the most delicious moan. Sephiroth moved a hand to the back of Reno's head to hold him there as he kissed a little harder.

Sephiroth was thrilled when the hesitation left the redhead's hands and one of them reached the back of his neck and he felt fingers run through his hair. He pulled out of the kiss and allowed his head to loll to the side with the gentle tug.

"Been wantin' to do that for awhile," Reno whispered.

Sephiroth hummed and undid the elastic that bound the red hair and tugged it out so that he could do the same to Reno. Sephiroth relished the slight tugging of his hair and had not realized how much he missed the comforting and erotic touch.

"So, Friday?" Sephiroth said as he gazed at the flushed redhead.

"Shit. That long, yo?" Reno whispered, his hand still stroking Sephiroth's hair and watching it fan as it fell from his fingers.

"I have compared our schedules," Sephiroth said. "I will be returning from my mission that morning and it seems you are busy with Legend in Costa Del Sol until then. You are leaving with him today, correct?"

"Shit, yeah," Reno said and stopped his fingers from moving through his hair but kept them embedded in the strands. "Ya could've just talked to me about Friday instead of gettin' me all worked up, yo." There was a touch of annoyance in his voice. Sephiroth could feel how worked up he was and was quite pleased at such a quick and strong reaction.

"Would you have accepted my invitation if I just talked about it?" Sephiroth leaned in and took the Turk's lips again. Just a gentle brushing this time, while he held Reno's head still and wrapped his other arm tightly around his waist to ensure that they were pressed together.

"Probably not," Reno whispered.

Sephiroth smirked. "We could have had this … conversation earlier, if you had not hid under your desk."

Reno flushed a bright red and looked down. "Ya saw me?"

Sephiroth chuckled as he pressed a finger under his chin and lifted the Turk's eyes back up to him. "Yes. I found it amusing," he said. He did not miss the shadow that was obviously Reno under the desk after Cissnei had pointed it out. "I was unsure if you were interested, but this," Sephiroth said and moved his hips slightly into Reno, "tells me that you are."

Reno gasped and leaned forward slightly. "Shit, don't get me all worked up. I'm tired of the teasin' game, so you better not be playin'." Reno's voice was serious, despite the obvious flush on his cheeks and the small press of the hips that he gave in return. Sephiroth could feel the hardness pressing against his and it was so very tempting.

"I don't play games," Sephiroth said, closing his eyes as Reno stroked his hair again with a small tug. He was almost regretting being so forward. It was not that he didn't want the trapped redhead, it was the fact that he wanted him … and now.

It had been nearly six months since Genesis had left him. He did not have any lovers take his bed and now that he had decided that he wanted one, he was finding it rather hard to control himself. It was especially hard when his silver hair was being tenderly tugged like that.

"Yo, are ya sure? 'Cause I can think of some fun games," Reno said with a raspy tempo that caused a pleasant tension to build in Sephiroth's stomach. He gave a low growl that he couldn't control as he claimed the Turk's lips again, pressing into the lean body.

~ _six months is a long time~_

He wanted the Turk. He wanted him now but his phone was vibrating in his pocket marking his limited time, and he wasn't going to have time to indulge the way he wanted. The redhead masterfully stroked his hair as he plundered his cinnamon mouth.

Reno groaned as he forced the kiss apart. "Ledge is most likely waitin' for me at the helipad already." Reno was panting and his chest was rising and falling at a rapid rate. Sephiroth could see the Turk's pulse racing in his neck.

"My place," Sephiroth said as he licked his lips enjoying the lingering taste of cinnamon there. "Friday at five."

Reno blinked and nodded.

"You better show," Sephiroth said, his hand stroking the back of the man's head with his gloved hand. Reno leaned into the caress and Sephiroth was tempted to be late. His phone vibrated again which forced him to take his hand away from the Turk's side. "I wish we had more time," he whispered.

~ _I want so much more than a kiss~_

"Yo, you started this," Reno said with a frown, but with very tempting flushed cheeks.

~ _I wonder what else is flushed~_

"Friday," Sephiroth whispered and leaned to touch those lips again. How he wanted to feel them on his neck. He wanted to taste more of the Turk and it seemed the Turk wanted more of him. Reno leaned into the kiss and the hand in his hair gripped firmly as if he didn't want to stop.

Sephiroth was starting to feel uncomfortably aroused and there was no time to take care of the desire that have been built up. Reno pushed against him and he was forced to pull away to maintain control.

 _~so damn tempting~_

"Tease," Reno whispered.

The simple whispered word set his blood on fire. He moved back into the Turk, grabbing him firmly around the waist and holding him tight into his chest. His other hand grabbed the redhead and forced the hardest and most passionate kiss that he could manage.

~ _they can wait~_

Sephiroth tugged at Reno's shirt and ran his gloved hand over the bare skin. Reno responded by arching into the touch. Reno gasped, breaking the kiss and throwing his head back, exposing his divine-looking throat.

Sephiroth ran his teeth over the tempting flesh before latching on to the sensitive taut muscle, and he gained a needy groan. Reno's talented fingers fiddled with the straps of his armour's harness and tugged.

"Oh. My. Goddess."

He at first thought it was Reno speaking but when the Turk's head snapped back up and looked around him, he knew that there was someone behind them. He turned slowly to see a young man standing at the entrance of the alcove. He was wearing a lab coat and looked quite shocked. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were large and round. He was gripping a mug in his hand and was shaking slightly.

"Can I help you?" Sephiroth snarled. The man blinked and then pointed to the half-empty coffee pot. It looked like he was trying to talk but he seemed to have lost the capacity.

The redhead pushed against his chest and he turned his attention back to Reno. He took a step back to allow him to hop down from the counter. He looked horribly embarrassed. "Friday," Sephiroth said in a low voice and was pleased to see that he shivered and nodded. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out another pack of that nicotine cinnamon gum, this one containing the card to his apartment. He placed the pack in the shirt pocket of the blushing man.

Reno just nodded and attempted to gain his composure, adjusting his pants as he walked out, giving the intruding man a wink that caused the lab coat to nearly drop his cup. "Enjoy your coffee."

Sephiroth turned his gaze on the extremely flushed and uncomfortable-looking man. He couldn't help but smile at him, which caused the intruder to take a hesitant step back.

"The room is all yours," he said simply and started to walk out. His phone was vibrating again and he knew that his father would demand a reason for his absence, but he had long ago learned to ignore his demands.

He had his own concerns and desires to take care of and he planned on filling those on Friday when he claimed the Turk.

* * *

Zack had fallen asleep on the couch and his head was resting in Cloud's lap. Cloud smiled softly as he looked at the tired man. He obviously had not slept well the time that they were apart and even after the night they spent sleeping in each other's embrace.

They were both dressed in some of Zack's workout clothes, which were snug on Zack and much too loose on him, but very comfortable.

~ _everything was very comfortable again~_

Cloud knew that Zack didn't sleep even with the comforts of being next to each other; Cloud had found it very warm and comfortable with the constant stroking and caressing that allowed him to sleep longer than he normally did. Cloud had woke when he had noticed that the warmth was no longer around him. He had been a little worried until he smelled breakfast - the delicious aroma of pancakes.

He was about to get out of bed when Zack had entered the bedroom with a plate of the delicious-smelling food. "Breakfast in bed," Zack announced. Cloud smiled fondly as he remembered how Zack fussed about the pillows around him as he sat up. Cloud was even more thrilled when Zack cut the first piece of pancake and fed him the syrupy piece of pastry. He had eagerly opened his mouth to receive the food and was even more thrilled when Zack kissed the dribbled syrup off his chin.

They did have an intense night talking. Cloud had poured his heart out, choking on his words a few times, and Zack doing the same as they sat in the café drinking overly-sweetened tea and cream-filled pastries. Zack had been tentative in touching him, as if it were going to drive him away and only dared to reach out and touch his hand once during the whole time there.

Zack had apologized so much to the point where Cloud was almost annoyed.

~ _now I understand why everyone tells me to stop saying 'I'm sorry'~_

Cloud laid down the rules quite clear. He understood that Zack was a First Class SOLDIER and he had to be called away on short notice, but he would not tolerate having such an intimate time interrupted like that and being … left. He remembered Zack's careful words. "I will never leave you when you need me again," he had whispered. "I will always be there for you and do anything for you."

Those simple words were enough to make that strange pain in his chest go away. They had talked more on gentler and lighter topics and Cloud could see that Zack was letting him lead the conversation.

It had gotten late and Zack had nervously asked if he wanted to come back to his place. Zack looked as if he was scared to ask. Cloud had agreed and was thrilled with the brilliant and unrestrained smile that crossed the dark-haired man's face.

As they rode in the elevator Zack had pulled out his key card and Cloud had noticed that there was one in each hand. "Do you want yours back?" There was an unrestrained hope in his tone. Cloud reached out and touched his arm, running his hand down to his and claimed the card that he had left behind.

They had been both tired from the last couple of emotionally stressful days and he had yawned loudly when he walked in the door. Zack had chuckled at him and asked if he wanted anything to drink or if he wanted to just watch TV. He was even more encouraged when he saw that Zack had shut off his PHS and set it aside as soon as they got in. He had said that they were fine and they gravitated to the couch. Zack was nervous to sit next to him and Cloud found it so endearing.

They put some silly late night talk show on, but they weren't really watching it. Cloud immediately snuggled into his big chest and wrapped an arm around Zack's middle. He could hear Zack's heart racing as a hand gently rubbed his back. He didn't remember falling asleep like that, but he did remember being slightly disoriented as he was carried into the bedroom with Zack saying that it was time for bed. He had only vague memories of getting undressed and crawling under the covers and back into his arms.

After being fed breakfast …

~ _and a few stolen kisses~_

… Zack went and cleaned the dishes in the kitchen. Cloud had offered to help but Zack refused. Cloud rested on the couch until Zack was done and they started to watch some action movie that was showing. It wasn't long before Zack was dozing off and struggling to keep his eyes open.

Cloud could see the fatigue still around Zack's eyes and encouraged the SOLDIER to rest. Zack ended up with his head in his lap, dozing off with Cloud running his hands through his hair.

The movie was now finished and Cloud stroked Zack's cheek and whispered his name. Bright blue eyes slowly opened and a smile formed on his tempting lips. "I kinda zonked out there, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did," Cloud whispered back. Cloud kept his fingers in the dark strands of hair. "It's nearly noon already."

Zack tried to sit up but Cloud pushed him back down. "I'm a little hungry," Cloud said.

"What do you feel like?" Zack said twisting a little but kept his head in his lap.

"You," Cloud said and pushed both hands into Zack's hair. There was still one more thing that Zack had to make up for. "I want you," he whispered and let one hand stroke his cheek and down his throat into the collar of Zack's snug shirt.

Zack's eyes were instantly alert and his lips twitched into a smirk. "Oh, you do, eh?"

"Yeah," Cloud returned the smile. "There's still something you have to make up for."

Worry coloured Zack's face as he sat up and Cloud let him this time. "I do?" He looked at him with large eyes and a nervous frown.

"You bet you do," Cloud said, quickly moving to press himself against Zack, trying to dispel the anxiousness from the SOLDIER. "There is one thing that you still have to make up for." He kissed a line up Zack's jaw so he could suck on the lobe of his ear.

~ _I know he likes this~_

Zack's arm wrapped tightly around his waist and pulled him close. "I do have to make up for leaving you, don't I?"

"You certainly do," Cloud hummed as the rough hand stroked his side. "You said yesterday that you would do anything for me." He ran his hand over his chest and then rested it on Zack's shoulder.

"I meant it," Zack whispered and pressed his forehead against Cloud's. "Whatever you want."

Cloud smiled. "Even if I put that cock ring on you?"

Zack smile grew. "If you want."

"What about the handcuffs?"

Zack wiggled a bit. "Sure."

Cloud leaned in for a kiss that barely touched his lips. "What about the bumpy finger cover?" Cloud remembered how that simple silicon finger cover felt massaging him and was wondering how it would feel to use it.

Zack swallowed and the grip tightened around him.

"And then there is the …" Cloud tried to continue but Zack's mouth was on his and he found himself being turned and pushed back into the couch. Cloud chuckled as Zack pulled away.

Zack smiled at him brightly and in a husky voice that made Cloud shiver with delight, he said, "Anything for you, baby."

* * *

Well, Cloud wants to delve into that drawer again… I think Zack likes what Cloud is proposing… don't you?  
Friday sounds like an interesting day, doesn't it? I'm sure it will be. Sort of good news for Reno… hopefully.


	43. Sir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

**Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

Sir … yes, sir.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **Sir**

* * *

Cloud chewed his lip with anticipation as Zack sat on the edge of his bed. "Take off your shirt," Cloud said as he walked to the drawer. He couldn't take his eyes off the man. Zack was the sexiest guy in the world in his mind. Hell, he was pretty sure that it was a requirement in SOLDIER to be drop dead gorgeous to make First Class. Angeal, Genesis, Zack and Sephiroth were the hottest guys that he had ever seen, with Zack topping that list, of course.

~ _I'll be topping tonight~_

Zack smiled at him and with a deep rumble, "Is that an order, sir?"

That word sent a chill straight down to the pit of his stomach. Zack sat there as if he was waiting for him to say something.

"Yes, it's an order," Cloud said as he pulled the drawer open. He rooted through and pulled out the handcuffs.

"You aren't really going to use those, are you?" Zack removed his shirt and threw it across the room.

Cloud smiled. He had this image in his head of Zack with his arms above his head, his muscles all taut and stretched, begging to be touched, and he was going to make that fantasy of his come true. "I think you owe me."

~ _and other things as well~_

Zack chuckled. "Whatever you want, sir." The way he said that word - sir –- went straight to his core and was already affecting him, and Cloud was determined that he was going to make this a memorable occasion.

~ _so he will never leave me again~_

And it was going to be ruined if Zack kept making him react to his sexy banter. He looked over to Zack who gave a rather sloppy salute. It was cute and endearing and he normally would have just laughed and gone over to crawl in his lap, but not today. Not with his wildest fantasy coming true, and Zack's little change of address was certainly turning him on. He was going to use it to his advantage.

"That was a rather sloppy salute," Cloud said trying to make his voice sound stern and was pleased that he succeeded. Zack sat a little straighter and a confused look came over his eyes as they roamed over him. "I want a proper one."

Zack's mouth twitched and he straightened his back and gave him a proper salute. "Better, sir?"

"Much." Cloud sat on the bed and crooked his finger at him, imploring him to come closer. Zack smiled and inched forward on the bed. Zack had that smirk on his lips as they kissed lightly. Cloud encouraged the kiss for a minute before he pulled away. "Oh, that won't do," Cloud whispered when Zack was sitting right beside him.

"Won't do?" Zack sounded a little startled.

"I think you need to get on your knees." Cloud spread his legs to demonstrate where he wanted Zack. Zack's eyes grew wide, but so did his smile. Zack obeyed and sank to the floor, kneeling in front of Cloud.

"Right here?" Zack asked as he placed his hands on Cloud's legs and began to stroke his thighs. "Is this where you want me to be?" His smile was large and so were his violet eyes. Cloud nodded, not trusting his words to speak as he looked at the man kneeling before him. A First Class SOLDIER …

~ _at my mercy~_

…kneeling, shirtless, in front of him was quite a tasty sight. He placed the cuffs to the side, so that they were still in easy reach before he cupped Zack's face in his hands and leaned forward for a kiss. He kept it light, even though he could felt that Zack wanted to deepen it further. Zack was allowing him to lead.

Zack's hands crept under his shirt and squeezed his sides. Cloud broke the kiss and was still caressing his smooth cheeks with both his hands. He ran a thumb over the sensual lips and resisted the urge to nibble on them. "Take off my shirt," Cloud said and was pleased with how quick Zack complied, dragging his hands up his sides and taking his shirt with them, forcing his arms up as he did so. Zack threw the shirt across the room to join where he threw his earlier. He enjoyed how Zack ran his hands down his sides as he leaned in to kiss Cloud's chest, and his dark hair tickled his chin as it rubbed against him.

Zack pressed his lips down his chest and to his belly. Cloud watched the enthralling sight and tried to control his breathing in order to stay in control of his overwhelming pleasurable moment.

Zack leaned back and smiled up at him. "What else would you like, sir?" Cloud smiled back down at the lovely sight. He reached to his side and grabbed the handcuffs and toyed with them. He could see Zack's eyes dart to them and back up to his face.

"I like you right there," Cloud whispered. He wasn't going to use the cuffs just yet. He moved his hands so one was on Zack's bare shoulder and the other threaded through his black tresses. "Well, maybe a little lower."

He enjoyed the widening of Zack's eyes and how his smile faltered a little bit. "A little lower?"

Cloud tugged on the dark hair. "Yeah. A little lower."

Zack's eyes darted down and Cloud increased his grip to push the large man down a little bit. Zack was a little resistant at first, but then complied so that his face was right in his crotch. He felt a hot kiss press against him through the fabric of his shorts. "About here, sir?"

"Right there," Cloud said as he felt the pressure of his lips and wished he had told Zack to remove the rest of his clothes already. Feeling his tantalizing and hot lips through the fabric made him twitch, and then Zack kissed him again. "Remove them."

Zack chuckled and kissed him again. "Remove what, sir?" Zack's hands were already resting on the top of the shorts and tugging them, but not hard enough to indicate that he was going to remove them.

"Take them off," Cloud said.

Zack hesitated and Cloud thought he was going to have to order him again, but it seemed that Zack was too eager to put up much of a fight at the moment, and pulled on them in earnest. He lifted himself so that Zack could remove them and they were quickly tossed to where the rest of the discarded clothes lay. He smiled at how Zack looked at him and saw him unconsciously licking his lips.

"Kiss it," Cloud whispered, massaging the back of Zack's head and urging him to move forward. He didn't have to tell Zack twice as he felt the dark-haired man's mouth surround him. Zack was not good at teasing. Cloud knew that, and there was nothing teasing about how he acted. He tried, but Cloud knew when Zack was impatient, he wouldn't be able to hold himself back.

And he didn't want him to hold himself back, not yet. He felt the gentle suction on his cock as he looked down at him. Zack started to move his head and Cloud was able to see himself sliding in and out of those lips.

The sight of Zack's slightly concaved cheeks, and how his eyes closed in concentration made his heart skip a beat.

Cloud let out a moan that he was trying to hold in. After all, he was supposed to be the aggressor this time around and he didn't need to make submissive sounds. He knew that Zack liked the noises, but he wanted to be strong today to show him that he could be more.

"That's so good." Cloud kept one hand firmly at the back of his head and moved his other hand off the trembling shoulder and reached for the cuffs. Zack was using one of his hands to alternate between squeezing the base of his dick and massaging his balls, while the other had a firm grip on his hip. Zack chuckled, sending the vibration running right to his spine and making Cloud almost forget what he wanted to do. The vibrations stopped, but violet eyes looked right up at him.

Zack's cheeks grew more hallowed for a moment and the sensation forced him to arch his back and thrust into the warm mouth. He smiled down at him and massaged the back of Zack's head and Zack's eyes closed again as he continued the action.

He groaned and moaned as Zack's mouth worked on him with his warm lips and probing tongue. Cloud let his body do what it wanted. He thrust a few times and he could feel himself getting close and he knew his moans were getting loud again. He could feel the exhilarating thrill in the pit of his stomach and start to roll up his spine. He knew he was gripping Zack's hair a bit too tight, but he also wanted to make sure that Zack was not going to pull away. He could feel the tension in Zack's neck muscles.

He didn't want him to stop and he knew that Zack was trying to. He looked back down at the mouth surrounding him and he nearly fell out of that warm mouth, but Cloud pushed himself back in sharply to ensure that it didn't happen. Zack gave him a questioning look as he glanced up at him.

Cloud couldn't speak, but increased his grip on his dark hair. Cloud knew that he made some sort of incoherent sound. He didn't hear the sounds, he just knew he was making them. He could only concentrate on what he was feeling, and he was feeling good.

~ _damn good~_

Cloud knew he was going to come soon as Zack increased the suction. Cloud arched his back and pushed himself deep into his mouth as the warm thrill ran through his whole body.

~ _how can it always get better?~_

He allowed his body to collapse back onto the bed as he tried to catch his breath. He could feel Zack still surrounding him and he let go of the hair and threw his hands over his head. He realized that he had clutched the cuffs in his hand. Zack crawled up his body and then gave him a salty kiss, pressing him into the bed.

"How was that, sir?" Zack said in a low, sexy voice.

Cloud tried to remain stoic, but he could feel the corners of his mouth twitching. "I approve," he said and pressed forward for another kiss. He could feel that Zack was very hard and pressing against his hip, still covered in the pants. "You need to remove some more clothes."

"It seems so."

Cloud smiled and realized that he still had the cuffs in his hand. He pushed on Zack so that he rolled over and he was on top. He placed one of the rings around Zack's wrist. "You're really going to truss me up?" Zack said.

"Yup," Cloud said and licked his lips. "You did it to me, so I get to do it to you now."

Zack's smirk grew. "You gonna do everything to me then?"

"Yup," he said and Zack shuddered slightly above him. Cloud smiled. He liked making Zack do that; making him need him and want him.

~ _and with no interruptions~_

"Are you going to pull out the blindfold, too?" Zack asked and pressed against him again.

Cloud shook his head. "I want you to see."

Zack groaned and pressed his forehead against his. "You are so damn sexy, you know that?"

Cloud laughed and tried to keep himself from blushing. He tugged on Zack's wrist with the cuff. "Let's get you cuffed up."

"What if I put up a fight?" Zack said in a playful voice.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Do you really want to?"

Zack's laughter was music to his ears as he leaned in for a kiss. "Nope." Cloud pressed his hands against his chest to get him off of him. Zack rolled over and scooted himself to the head of the bed. Cloud eagerly threaded the cuffs around the bar of the bed frame and attached the cuff to Zack's other wrist.

Zack wiggled to get comfortable when he realized that Zack was still wearing the pants.

~ _those got to go~_

He quickly tugged on them and they came off in one fluid motion. Zack laughed as Cloud threw them in the corner. Cloud turned his attention back to observing that Zack did indeed look wonderful with his arms up over his head and making all his muscles look tight. Cloud's eyes were drawn to the muscle that was nested between his legs. Zack was fully erect and waiting, and that muscle was very tasty-looking as it rested on his belly.

"Don't start drooling." Zack chuckled as he wiggled slightly.

Cloud snorted before he went over to the drawer and began to search for the items he wanted to use. He gave a glance at Zack who had his lower lip trapped in his teeth as he looked at him.

"Damn it, Cloud. Don't tease," Zack whimpered.

"I haven't done anything yet," Cloud said as he moved to sit at the side of the bed, still very much enjoying the view.

"You're doing plenty," Zack whimpered again and closed his eyes. He knew that Zack had seen what he had pulled out of the drawer. He was grateful that Zack was getting into this. The odd thing was, he didn't know why he had even brought it up today of all days. He never really thought of being on top before, even if he did like it when Zack called him 'sir'.

~ _really like that~_

He crawled onto the bed and was getting a little anxious. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to do it right.

 _~first thing first~_

He grabbed Zack's weeping cock firmly in his hand. Zack let out a groan and wiggled under the grip. Cloud chuckled at how needy Zack was at the moment. He squeezed it firmly and then placed the cock strap around the base of his dick. Zack groaned. Cloud couldn't help but tease as he bent over and took the head of his silky cock into his mouth and sucked gently.

~ _tastes and sounds good~_

Cloud enjoyed the sounds that Zack was making. He wondered if he sounded like that. He knew he was loud and was grateful that Zack let him be. He was also grateful that Zack was making those sounds, as it fuelled his desire all the more.

~ _no wonder Zack doesn't want me to be quiet~_

Cloud was already starting to get hard again as his body was responding to the overly sensual sight in front of him. Cloud wanted to play a bit, but didn't know how long he would be able to hold back.

He released Zack's cock from his mouth and heard Zack mutter some small curses.

Cloud just chuckled as he rubbed the hips and thighs of the larger man. There was an anxious quiver in those muscles and he could already see Zack straining against the cuffs.

"Relax," Cloud whispered as he ran his hands up and down one of his thighs, enjoying the feel of his skin beneath his hand.

"How can I relax when you tease me like that?" Zack let out a moan as he threw his head back into the pillows.

Cloud smiled and reached for the next item. Zack's eyes focused on his hands as he strained against the cuffs. "I'm regretting letting you cuff me."

Cloud wanted to play with as many toys as possible. He doubted that they would be able to do it today, but then they had all week. He could also feel the anxiousness of his dark-haired lover as he looked at him.

~ _there is always time later for more fun~_

Cloud put the small piece of silicone over his finger. Zack's breathing quickened and his legs spread a little bit. He didn't think that Zack would enjoy being topped. He was pleasantly surprised when Zack had agreed to do this.

Cloud reached for the cherry lube and squeezed some onto the silicone finger covering. "You aren't wasting any time," Zack whispered and it seemed that he involuntarily spread his legs a bit more.

"Don't want to," Cloud said as he placed the lube to the side. He moved so that he was between the ever-widening legs. He reached forward, one hand gripping a hip bone and the other hand reaching beneath his heavy balls. He pressed his finger against the shaded entrance and swirled his finger teasingly around it. Cloud made sure that he was spreading the lube liberally around it.

Zack twisted his hips and his moan became desperate-sounding. Cloud was fully hard again. It almost hurt at how quickly he was ready again. Zack's lovely sounds and how he was submissively wiggling against his stroking finger was impossible not to react to.

"Damn it, Cloud." Zack sounded breathless. He looked up at Zack and he had never seen the man look so good. His face beautifully flushed, his eyes bright but unfocused, his mouth open slightly, his chest moving too quickly to be anything but excited … Zack was perfect.

"You want more," Cloud said, unable to resist the teasing. He pressed the covered finger against the anxious entrance, but didn't penetrate.

Zack let out a moan-filled yes and he could hear the bed's frame creak. Cloud couldn't help but smile as he did as Zack commanded. He pressed in his finger and almost wished that he didn't have the cover on his finger so that he could feel how Zack felt surrounding him.

~ _will get to feel him around me soon~_

He pushed the thought away and went back to concentrating on what he was doing as the warm heat moved around his finger. He wiggled the single finger, stroking and swirling as he started to feel the muscle relax and open for him.

Zack was whispering his name and asking for more. Cloud reached for the lube and spread some more around his finger as he slowly began to pump inside the quivering hole. He was contemplating adding another finger when Zack gave a sharp yelp.

It startled him and he nearly pulled away, but the groan that followed and the soft words, 'damn it', told him that he must have hit the right spot. He reached for it again, causing Zack to twist against the cuffs and bite his lower lip.

Cloud pushed his finger in again and wiggled it against the spot that he thought caused Zack to jump and groaned and that went straight to his core. Cloud continued to do so until Zack began to pant and start to beg for him to take the ring off.

That was when he slipped the second finger in. He had never prepared another man before and it was quite thrilling to realize how much power and control he had performing this simple act. He knew what he liked and was glad to see that his actions were causing Zack to react like this. He started to scissor his fingers and try to keep hitting the spot that was causing Zack to whimper with need.

"Damn it!" Zack yelled and thrust his hips forward. "Just fuck me, Cloud."

Cloud took in a deep breath and held it. He was throbbing with the need to be inside the man. He had never wanted anything more in his life. He pulled back from stroking the insides of Zack, earning a whimper. He had initially thought he would be able to play with the toys a little more, but it was going to have to wait.

He reached over to the end table and pulled out a condom. He removed the bumpy finger covering, clumsily throwing it into the pile of their discarded clothing. He wiped his hand on a towel that was now a constant feature beside their bed as he opened the package with hands that were shaking in anticipation.

"Cloud," Zack whimpered.

Cloud couldn't talk. He quickly placed the condom on, discarding the package on the floor. He got back into position, kneeling between Zack's muscular thighs. He grabbed one of Zack's legs and positioned it so that it was draped over his hip and manoeuvred Zack so that his hips were tilted to give him better access. He rubbed himself against Zack before he pulled back to put some lube on himself.

Zack was watching him with hungry eyes and Cloud enjoyed that look. He gave himself a couple of strokes to make sure that the condom was covered with the cherry lube.

"Cloud." Zack's voice was heavy with pleading and need.

He moved closer and had to hold himself back to prevent himself from plunging into that warm, inviting body. It took a lot of effort to still himself, right at his eager entrance.

Zack writhed. "What are you waiting for?"

"Is that how you are supposed to address me?" Cloud said as he stroked the leg that was over his hip and the other still holding his own erection, preparing to plunge it into the waiting entrance.

"Gaia."

"Nope. That's not it." Cloud said rubbing his head against the slick entrance.

"S-sir," Zack said and thrust his hips.

~ _oh yeah, that's it~_

He pressed his head against the hole with concentration. He wanted to remember everything about this and was enjoying the anticipation and pressure against his cock, even before he entered the man.

"Please, sir."

Cloud obliged and pushed in. He closed his eyes and concentrated pushing himself in slowly. It felt divine, heavenly, warm and oh-so-right. He could hear Zack whimpering under him but he couldn't open his eyes yet. He was certain that if he opened them, he would lose it.

He was only half way in when he stopped and pulled back just as slowly, before he moved forward again. Zack's legs wrapped around him so that he was now trapped by the powerful thighs that were trying to draw him in.

~ _all those squats~_

He obliged and went in deeper - as deep as he could. Zack moaned his name again and he finally opened his eyes. Zack was looking up at him. Cloud smiled warmly down at Zack and he got a smile in return.

"Are you going to move, sir?" Zack pulled at the cuffs and Cloud was momentarily distracted by how his arms and chest muscles looked as he fought against the restraints. Zack's moving hips reminded him to move.

He pulled back slowly and pushed into that warm cavern again. Zack began to move his hips to match his slow pace. Cloud grabbed Zack's throbbing cock, trying to make up for how clumsy he felt as he moved in and out.

He used his thumb to rub the head of the hot cock and felt the pre-cum wet his hand quickly. Zack gave out a whimper and thrust his hips, forcing him to go in deep and causing him to moan.

~ _so good~_

He began to pick up the pace, getting used to the feel of being surrounded. It was so different than a blow job. The warmth was different and the pressure was so much more as everything was being squeezed at once.

~ _I can get used to this~_

He tried to keep his pace even and controlled, but often found himself thrusting unevenly and his position shifting. It took a lot of concentration to stay focused on trying to find the spot that made Zack whimper and beg for the removal of that damn cock strap.

Cloud pumped in a few more times before he reached down and tugged on Zack's velvety cock and ran his fingers over the strap. He loved the feel of the warm and throbbing flesh in his hands.

"Cloud, please." Zack twisted under him and the metal that he was cuffed to made a creaking sound. The dark-haired man was looking extremely hot and bothered and ready to blow.

Cloud was pretty sure that if he didn't let him come, he would break his bed and not allow Cloud to finish this way.

~ _that could be good too~_

He removed the strap and everything changed in a blinding flash. Zack let out a pleasure-filled moan and his thighs squeezed around his waist tightly at the same time that the muscles around his dick began to spasm.

Cloud hardly registered the warm fluid that covered his hand and Zack's belly as his own orgasm took him as he gave one last deep push into the quivering body beneath him.

~ _it just gets better every time~_

He couldn't move for a bit as he stayed still, and his heart finally slowed as he came down from the orgasmic high. He also didn't trust himself not to collapse until all his muscles stopped quivering from the thrill.

"That was great." Cloud finally let out a long breath as Zack's legs loosened their grip.

"Fuck yeah," Zack whispered.

Cloud smiled and looked into the violet eyes that showed nothing but affection and adoration. Cloud leaned forward so that he could capture a kiss. It was soft and gentle and full of passion.

"I think we should go have a shower to wash up," Cloud murmured into Zack's lips. He loved having showers with Zack. He could feel the cum drying on his hand and he was sure that Zack was starting to get a bit uncomfortable with the aftermath drying over him.

"Sure could use a nice warm shower after that workout," Zack said and tugged at the cuffs. The sharp sound of metal ringing together filled the room. "Are you going to uncuff me? My arms are a little sore."

Cloud nodded but didn't want to move quite yet. He liked being inside Zack as much as he like Zack inside him. He would never be tired of the man and how he made him feel. He was sure that he would be a happy man for the rest of his life as long as he was with Zack.

He gave out a little sigh and slid out, and Zack made a small hissing noise. Cloud quickly grabbed the towel and gave them a quick clean up. Zack gave him a lazy and satisfied smile.

"Cuffs, please," Zack said as he pulled at them. Cloud went for the key and leaned over Zack to remove them from his wrists. He noted that the bar he had looped them through was bent and he smiled.

~ _I did that~_

As soon as the cuff was released, Zack moved. Cloud yelped as he was grabbed and held tightly to his chest. Cloud laughed. "Zack!"

"What?"

"You're crushing me," Cloud said as he wrapped his arms around the man in return. He could feel the man nuzzling into his neck as he hummed.

"Uh-huh," Zack said. Zack let his grip decrease a little, but still held him firmly. "You are awful quiet when you're on top."

"Well, you made up for it with your noises," Cloud countered with a laugh as Zack sat up and pulled him into his lap.

"Did you like it?" Zack asked and stroked his hair. He noticed that there were red marks on his wrists from where he had been pulling on his restraints.

"Oh yeah," Cloud said. It was good.

~ _damn good~_

"You really like it when I call you 'sir', eh?" Zack said.

Cloud flushed and looked away, even though he had just made Zack call him that through their encounter, it still was an embarrassing thing to be turned on by.

"Did you like it?" Cloud asked.

"Hell yeah," Zack said. "I'm going to have to piss you off so we can have this type of make-up sex more often."

Cloud frowned at him. "I don't think you should piss me off just to get make-up sex."

Zack chuckled. "How about I mildly annoy you for that type of sex? I don't want to ever get you that angry again."

"You are starting to mildly annoy me right now," Cloud whispered and gave Zack a kiss.

Zack laughed. "I need a little bit of a break after that! How about we have that shower and go have some fun outside the bedroom. Well, at least until tonight. We do have tonight, right?"

"Yeah. I got patrol in the morning, though." Cloud ran his hand over Zack's shoulders. "You can have your turn to be on top tonight."

Zack pressed his forehead against his shoulder and chuckled. Zack was going to say something, but a loud rumble interrupted whatever he was going to say.

Zack pulled back and placed a hand on his stomach and gave him a sheepish grin. "Well, why don't we get washed up and get a bite to eat?"

Cloud smiled. "Sounds like a plan." He went to stand up, when Zack suddenly lifted him over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Cloud protested. "I can walk!"

Zack chuckled but didn't put him down as he was carried into the bathroom.

"I'm going to make you bathe me then!" Cloud snapped.

"Sure thing, sir."

* * *

CLOUD! Did you think he had it in him? Well, he didn't have it in HIM this time, but you get my gist. I knew he could do it!  
One more Chapter until Friday… Yes, Friday.

* * *

 **AUTHORS UNRELATED BABBLE**  
Cool artwork that I won: http:/ animama . Deviantart .com /art /kiraban-prize-pic-color-170046248 - LOVES IT SO DAMN MUCH I COULD DIE NOW, but then I know you guys all want me to finish Tease first, so I'll hold off on that.

CONTEST PRIZE for my Story THREE FIRSTS… http:/ lupisashes . deviantart . com /art /GenSeph-Taste-of-Dumb-Apples-170135682

DARK NATION FROM VVKITI! I love it so so much! I totally love that monster, you know. http:/ vvkiti . deviantart. Com /art /La-Dark-Nation-170496553

TSENGY is not IMPRESSED. http:/ lagunanojutsu .deviantart. com /art /tsengnotimpressedplz-170511468 I know it was not made just for me… but it's TSENG and I love him so much.

Remember to take the spaces out of just go to my updated profile page. I removed a lot of fluffy stuff that was in there but I have direct links to all the wonderful artwork that is there. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Oh, and the poll is new! Well. Newish, go fill it out!


	44. Before Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

**Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…  
Rufus POV! And a little Dark Nation history…  
Legend POV: Reno!  
Cloud and Zack

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **BEFORE FRIDAY**

* * *

Rufus steadily stroked the head of Dark Nation and frowned. He had been dealing with his father and his batch of 'yes men' for the last three hours, and they were only irritating him. Tseng was eyeing him and Rude was frowning at him. The stupid function was the last place in the world he wanted to be.

He had other things he would rather be doing.

~ _and he isn't even around for me to do~_

He was not pleased at the turn of events when it came to his latest infatuation. Reno was good at evasion; he was a Turk, after all. It was easier with Genesis, as the General was all about confrontation.

But the company and his father had been consuming his time and taking him away from the things he wanted to pay attention to.

He did not have the same vision as his father when it came to the company, his grand vision of the Promised Land, and there were only a few people that he ever trusted. The list was much too small; Rufus had known long ago that his life was just a bunch of games, and whoever was in control, won.

He trusted Tseng with his life, even though his loyalty was with the company. He knew that they had their differences, but he wasn't a little 'yes man' that was going to bow to his every whim and idea. He appreciated that in the man and was always grateful that they could work out their differences.

~ _he never did like who I picked for my bed~_

He was tempted to try the man from time to time, but he needed him positioned within the Turks with his impartial eye. He needed Tseng where he was in the company more than in his bedroom, no matter how tempting the man was.

Rude, he did not trust as much. The dark man always performed his job, but hiding those eyes behind those sunglasses always unnerved him. Rufus knew that he was good at reading people, but he could not read Rude. He was a little concerned with the Turk's cool demeanour and he was more determined to learn how to read the man, who really had not given him a reason not to trust him.

~ _even though I feel like he is glaring at me right now~_

He had only seen Rude in action once and that was enough for Rufus to have respect for the man as a Turk. He remembered that his father was being attacked by a guy with a knife. Rude had stepped in front of the man, grabbed his arm, twisted it behind the attacker's back in a bone-crunching grip. He had been amazed at how he effortlessly threw the attacker over the side of the building without a single moment of hesitation. He remembered how unnerving it was to watch Rude go from watching the man splat six floors down, straighten his jacket, then folded his arms and stand there like nothing happened.

He shook those thoughts out of his head and pet the head of Dark Nation. Having her around was calming, even though he knew his father did not approve. It was all the more reason to keep her around in the beginning, now he didn't want to be without the protection and comfort she offered.

~ _even if she doesn't approve of Reno~_

He found himself smiling at the thought of the redhead. He certainly liked Reno, as he was quite a character and handsome, but he did not know him well enough to know if he could have trust in the man.

He snorted at himself at the thoughts. He was interested in claiming Reno as his own, but he still didn't trust him.

~ _my priorities are so screwed~_

He was certain about that.

The room filled with Lazard's laughter and he couldn't help but frown. He was always at odds with his half-brother over nearly everything. He avoided him as much as he possibly could, not wanting to deal with the older man and his pompous, idiotic behaviour.

He knew Lazard blamed him for Genesis leaving at first, and he had no intention of explaining to the bastard about his relationship with the Red General. He rubbed his cheek where he remembered the punch he got from that conversation.

He had not done anything to stop Dark Nation from roughing up his stupid half-brother. He was pleased with how she had ripped up the director's arm, ruined his stupid purple suit jacket, and bloodied and tore his white pants with her claws. Cissnei had somehow diffused the whole situation and had…

~ _unfortunately~_

…healed Lazard. He left with Dark Nation in tow and got her a nice steak as a treat.

~ _I will not muzzle her for anyone~_

Dark Nation had still been nothing more than a pup then, but it was evident to see how Genesis had trained the monster for him. Leaving him with the strange pet after a brief conversation that contained soft words and a gentle kiss, it was the first and only time that they had a tender moment. But Genesis had ruined it by kneeling in front of the pup, holding Dark Nation's head in his hands and stating, "Take care of the Weed for me."

He hated being called 'Weed' by Genesis, but at that moment he spoke with such kindness and emotion that he didn't mind the strange nickname. Of course, he didn't recognize that the man was going to go MIA after that little interaction.

He was pretty sure that Dark Nation was fully grown now. He ruffled her ears fondly and she lolled her tongue out of her mouth. He knew that if he said so, she would attack anyone in the room to protect him.

The only person that Dark Nation seemed to like was Reeve.

Reeve. He trusted the man explicitly. Reeve was the only one that he had been able to confide in over the years without having to worry about the information getting back to haunt him. The man had been there when his mother passed away. He had been there when he had done some silly things in the past and some more serious ones, as well.

~ _still have that silly stuffed animal he made me for my birthday when I was five~_

Reeve had never asked for anything in return. He truly wanted to make the world and the company a better place, even though his words and projects were often squashed and abolished before they could be completed. It never seemed to deter the man, and that was to be admired.

He did all he could to ensure that Reeve was able to continue with his projects as much as possible. Sometimes he didn't think he was able to do enough to show the elder man how much he appreciated him. He often remembered as a child how he wished that Reeve was his father instead of the fat man that really was.

Dark Nation nudged his hand and he went back to scratching behind her ears as her tentacle wrapped around his arm gently. She was as anxious to get out of there as he was.

He couldn't even have a conversation with Reeve, as his time was being monopolized with some other members of the board that he didn't remember seeing before, and Hojo was saying something about his projects, as well.

He didn't want to be there. He would rather be hunting down his Turk, but he was in Costa Del Sol with his mentor. He couldn't really get upset over that. He was upset over the fact that Sephiroth was winning …

 _~again~_

... just like he had with Genesis.

He had Genesis first before Genesis' eyes wandered to the silver-haired General. He could claim that, but he was never really able to claim the temperamental General after he started to see him. It changed everything and he had not thought that Sephiroth would be so bold as to make moves on the Turk.

~ _must be missing Genesis, too~_

Genesis had been under his control and Rufus had had him moulded to his liking and whims. He knew it wasn't Sephiroth that made the first move. He knew it was Genesis and he knew it was his fault. He had pushed Genesis too hard and he went looking for other ways to relieve himself and found it in Sephiroth.

It was not like Genesis hadn't always been attracted to Sephiroth. It had been obvious by his looks and glances that he would have desired him much sooner.

The one thing with Sephiroth that always startled him was that he didn't seem to care that his lovers had others. He had 'overheard' a conversation between Angeal and Sephiroth once. Angeal was confused over what was going on and asked for an explanation.

"But he is with Rufus. Doesn't that bother you?" He remembered the honourable man's words.

"Why should it bother me?" Sephiroth said.

"But they sleep together."

"And?" Sephiroth had said, not at all looking concerned or worried about the unspoken arrangement that they had.

"You don't see anything wrong with this whole arrangement?" Angeal had sounded quite angry.

"Should I?" He remembered listening to Angeal's long explanation about honour and loyalty and some other stuff that was typical of the First Class SOLDIER.

"But Genesis is the one that made the first moves on me. So does that make him less honourable?" Sephiroth said, stumping the other man. "Angeal, I am grateful for your concern in this matter, but Genesis made up his mind with what he wants. Right now, he wants us both. Rufus is just in it for the game of seduction and I will always be there for him."

A statement that was not true for either of them. He did care for Genesis and Sephiroth had not been there for Genesis when he needed him the most.

Rufus had thought of many of the nights in his empty bed only with the low rumble of Dark Nation to comfort him when no one else with warmth would join him.

~ _will change that soon, though~_

Rufus felt his phone vibrate. He had set the alarm for one hour. The minimum amount of time considered socially acceptable to remain after the forced social dinner. He had not talked to anyone as he had no desire for conversation today. He had feigned illness at the beginning of dinner, and despite being absolutely starving, only ate half a bowl of soup to keep the charade up. He shut off the vibrating phone and rose from the chair with Rude dutifully following him. Tseng gave a look at his watch before placing his hand behind his back again. He ignored the man and went to walk to his father to be excused. He pulled on Dark Nation's leash in the manner he had trained her that was her cue to growl at the nearest person. He didn't know who the man that scurried away was, but he went to join the circle where Scarlet and Heidegger were talking.

He hated those two with quite a passion with their annoying laughs. He found himself smiling as he thought of something that Reeve had said about them all the time.

 _~ Looks like Kya ha ha ha and Gya ha ha ha are up to something~_

And they most likely were.

"Father," Rufus said, trying to keep his voice low and sounding a little weak. He wanted out of here and he didn't want to be paraded about like some sort of show chocobo. "I believe that I shall retire for the evening."

He tensed as his father put his hand on his arm and acted concerned. He knew that his father didn't really care about his wellbeing, only about his image. He was certain that if his father had his way, he would have been the bastard son and Lazard would have been the Vice-President of the company.

"You do look a little pale, son," he said. "Go rest."

He nodded and was given a few other goodbyes and feel better soon comments from other members of the group. He could see Reeve giving him a concerned look, but he didn't want to go over to say goodnight when he was talking with Lazard.

~ _I am not dealing with Lazard and his snide comments ~_

Tseng looked at his watch again and gave him a disapproving frown as he went to the door. He was grateful to be out of the room and was comforted with the warmth of Dark Nation rubbing against his leg. He was grateful to be out of the tower, and despite his misgivings that he had about Rude, he was comforted knowing that the man was watching his back as he made his way to the garage and his limo.

He sighed heavily as they went into the parking garage and was free of the stifling air of the tower. He was looking forward to getting back to his house, get out of his suit and crawl into his bed. He had to figure out how he was going to deal with Sephiroth and Reno.

He couldn't let Sephiroth win him away from him when he was just starting to get the Turk to the point where he was enjoying his reactions and his behaviour.

He ushered Dark Nation into the limo first and was about to enter when he felt himself being yanked back and the limo door slammed before he could enter. He blinked and looked to see Rude staring down at him. Rude was very large and very intimidating. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, trying not to show that he was nervous at the dark man hovering over him.

Rude had never laid a hand on him before. This is the first time the Turk had even stood this close to him. He was not expecting to have the gloved hands grab his jacket and lift him off his feet. Rufus was surprised and couldn't hold back a startled yelp as he was roughly pushed against the side of the limo.

Rude was right in his face and he could see the anger on the normally stoic face as he spoke with clenched teeth. "You will watch yourself around my partner."

Rufus was about to say something to defend himself but quickly snapped his mouth shut. "If you hurt him …" Rude cleared his throat and Rufus gasped as the fist tightened on his jacket. He was given a sharp and rather painful thump against the car. It jarred his teeth and he was certain there would be bruising on his shoulders where he hit the car.

The hands abruptly let go and he was set back on his feet. Rude stood in front of him with a scowl on his face and he cracked his knuckles. Even with the fact that his eyes were hidden behind the glasses, he could still feel the glare.

Rude was not a man that he wanted to piss off and it seemed that he had.

"He doesn't need to be played with, sir." Rude's words were full of venom and contempt; he nearly spit out the last word. Rude took a step back, straightened the hem of his jacket in an easy fashion and seemed to hide the anger that he showed just a few seconds before.

Rude moved and Rufus flinched, expecting a blow from the man that was supposed to be his bodyguard. He didn't realize that he had closed his eyes until he heard a door open.

He saw the open door with Dark Nation whining at him from the back seat of the car, her large head looking at him and then back to the Turk. Rude stood impassively, holding the door open. Dark Nation gave a small growl but Rufus quickly silenced her and slid into the limo, pushing her further in. He was grateful to have Rude close the door behind him, even if it was slammed a little harder than it should have been.

Rufus took a couple of deep breaths to compose himself. He could see Rude's shadow sitting in the front and instructing the driver to go. He was grateful that Rude never rode in the back with him like most of the other Turks did.

He wished that Tseng was his bodyguard for the evening. At least he knew how to talk to the man. He had no idea how to talk or deal with the brute force of someone like Rude.

Dark Nation rumbled and rested her head in his lap. Rufus took comfort in her actions and sighed heavily. "Well, things always are complicated, aren't they, Nation?" he whispered.

* * *

Legend watched as Reno frantically looked around the kitchen and living room. He had been subtle about it at first. Reno began by going through his discarded clothes pockets and then all the clothes that he had in the bedroom, even the ones in the drawers. Reno even frantically scurried around on the beach sand for a little bit, looking for the lost item that he wasn't admitting that he had lost. It was a humorous sight to see the red-haired Turk in strange green and blue board shorts running around with a colourful shirt that matched.

Finally, Reno asked him where it was with eyes nearly in a panic, but his voice was surprisingly calm. "Hey, Ledge, have ya seen my gum?"

Legend held up the pack. "This?"

Reno looked relieved and reached for it. "Thanks, man. Needed a fix." Reno opened the pack and he saw the frantic look appear again as he tried to calmly pull out a piece of gum and put it in his mouth. He could see Reno's fingers shaking as he tried to calmly tear open the package, looking for what was missing.

Legend knew what he was looking for. He had it in his hand and decided to show it to Reno. "Is this what you were looking for?"

Reno's eyes grew wide and his already pale cheeks flushed red.

"This is white."

"Yeah." Reno looked like he wanted to reach out and grab the card from his hand. Legend could see the muscles in his shoulders twitching and his fingers looking like they were going into spasm.

"Why was it in the pack of gum?"

"I thought I wouldn't lose it there."

"The card is _white_ , Reno. That's the colour for the SOLDIER floor."

Reno chewed his piece of gum in his mouth vigorously, gave a small chuckle and a crooked smile. Legend could see the thoughts of how was he going to get out of this crossing Reno's face. Reno's hand darted forward, but he wasn't that slow yet and he pulled the card out of his younger ward's reach. "You aren't seriously considering this?"

Reno looked down at his feet and groaned.

"We talked about this already!" Legend said, tempted to throw the card away and burn it. He knew which SOLDIER that this was for. He couldn't understand Reno's attraction to men, never mind such a dangerous man.

"Damn it, Ledge," Reno said. "I don't need another lecture on it, yo."

Legend watched as he gave him that same look that he used to give him as a stupid teenager. "He is nothing but trouble!" Legend protested. All SOLDIERs were trouble and he thought he had instilled that in Reno.

"Damn it. I know that!" Reno snapped and grabbed the card from his hand and tucked it in his pocket. "I don't have luck with anyone! If I can have a little bit of comfort from the hot guy, so be it." Reno looked tense. "I know you mean well, Ledge."

"But this isn't just someone from the engineering department. This is the Silver General!" Legend said and had to calm himself down a bit. He could feel the tightness in his chest again. He knew he was getting all flustered at Reno, and Reno was not taking his concerns seriously.

Reno sighed heavily. "Ya know." He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "I want to have more, Ledge. I get it, but I know it's not gonna happen whether I was interested in girls or not. You know as well as I do that I'm a screw up from the slums and a Turk. I mean, that's the reality."

Legend sighed and frowned. He knew better than anyone that Reno was right about being a Turk. It screwed up any chance of normal relationships, and it wasn't Reno's fault the life he led as a child. He just didn't understand …

~ _why the General, of all people?~_

 _..._ why he was trying to find comfort with SOLDIERs.

"Can't you find a Turk to shack up with?"

Reno laughed. "Tried that. That failed, too. Listen, Ledge, I know ya worry 'bout me. But I'm an adult now and I'm not that scrawny rat that was hidin' under the bed."

"I just," Legend started, but gave a heavy sigh. Reno was right. Reno was not that scrawny little kid that would look at him from beneath the bed when he entered the room. He was not the skinny teen that he had to coax out with food or pop.

~ _or drugs when he had the shakes~_

Reno rolled his eyes and went to the fridge. "Okay. I'm going to put it this way. If Scarlet were to come over and drop in your lap and invite you to her room, you would take it, right?" Reno grabbed a drink from the fridge - some of those awful, sweet lemonades that he liked.

"Hell yeah," Legend said. There was no denying that Scarlet cut a fine figure and he couldn't help but admire the woman and often thought about stripping that tight red dress off her.

"And she isn't bad for you or anythin', yo?" Reno said after he took a big drink.

"Well, I …" Legend stopped and stared at the smug smile on his young student's face.

"But, she's got …" Legend held his hands out as if he were cupping a pair of large breasts, but quickly put his hands back to his side. "Okay. I get your point."

"I think that's five," Reno said with a laugh.

Legend frowned deeply at the redhead.

"It's not very often that I make a point that ya get, yo," Reno said. "I get that Sephiroth won't be good for me, but man, he can sure kiss, and have ya seen his abs?"

"I thought you had a thing for butts." Legend scoffed and was of the mind to get some of the same drink that Reno was having, even though it would conflict with his medications that kept him breathing.

"Yo, well, that too," Reno said. "Can't see Sephiroth's butt with that long jacket of his, but he sure shows off his other assets."

Legend groaned. "I don't need the details, Reno." Reno laughed as he pulled that card out of his pocket. "Just make sure that you protect yourself," Legend said.

Reno rolled his eyes. "Twenty-five."

"Twenty-five?" Legend asked. "What have I said twenty-five times?"

"Protectin' myself. The safe sex talk." Reno chuckled and took a long drink from the bottle.

Legend sighed. He no longer wanted to talk about this subject. "Let's go for a walk on the beach. I need to see some babes to get the thoughts of your men obsessions out of my head."

Reno nodded. "I'm gonna need more sunscreen, yo." Legend noted that Reno placed that key card in the drawer where he kept his wallet.

He was never going to get used to this and he was not going to like it, but what could he do to stop Reno? He was no longer a child and he could do who or what he wanted.

But he figured in the next couple days, he would push those numbers up in how many lectures he gave him.

* * *

"So he obviously made up with his Sugar-Daddy," Joseph grumbled and crossed his arms. "He went from ignoring us because he was pissed off and now he's ignoring us because he is in la-la land."

John pushed the pesky blue-haired man away from his shoulder. "He's happy. Will you drop it already?"

"Yeah, yeah," Joseph said as they watched Cloud walk over to their spot on the table. Cloud was in dreamland. He constantly had a crooked smile that would just appear on his lips at the oddest moments.

He was glad that Cloud made up with Zack. It made Cloud a much happier person and easier to be around. Cloud sat beside them and gave them an overly cheery 'good morning' that was completely out of character.

Joseph raised his eyebrow at Cloud, pointing his fork at him with a narrowed look. "Are you on crack?"

Cloud just shook his head. "Don't be silly."

~ _completely out of character~_

"What did your Sugar-Daddy get you to turn you from a raving mad-man to mister guy-on-cloud-nine?" Joseph said as he waggled his eyebrows. John rolled his eyes. Joseph was fishing for him to laugh at the horrible pun that he just made up and he wasn't going to fall for it. It seemed that Cloud wasn't going to bite, either.

"Nothing," Cloud said as he started to eat. A strange smile and dazed look crossed his face. John almost was curious to ask what happened as well, but refrained. It was none of his business.

~ _as much as I'm dying to know what could change the emo king into a giddy school girl~_

Joseph didn't have the same level of tact. "Come on. Throw me a clue here! Reno left yesterday, did you two snog or something?"

Cloud stopped with the forkful of food halfway to his mouth.

"Snog?" Cloud and John said at the same time.

"What? Didn't you?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Cloud asked as he put his fork back onto his plate and gave him a confused look. John refrained from covering his face with his hands.

"What? Snog. You know, screw, fuck, shag, lick, blow, tap, pack in …" Cloud flushed bright red as Joseph's inappropriate list started, but he reacted quickly.

John didn't see any reason to stop Cloud as the chair Joseph was sitting on was violently tipped back and crashed to the floor, causing Joseph to let out an unmanly scream. The whole Mess hall broke into laughter and taunts. "What was that for?" Joseph protested.

"You are a real pervy jerk sometimes, you know that, Joseph?" Cloud said simply and went back to eating his dinner. He still had a large smile on his face.

~ _shit, Zack must have done something really good to him~_

"You still love me though, right?" Joseph said as he pulled his chair back up and patted Cloud's back. "Right?"

"You need counselling, Joseph," John said as he shook his head.

"Seriously," Cloud said, but he was still smiling as he sat there.

John even eyed Cloud suspiciously. "You are way too happy. What have you done with the real Cloud?"

Cloud just chuckled and a flush formed on his cheeks.

~ _must have been real good~_

Joseph made a pouting look and crossed his arms. "I need to find a guy that will turn me into that kind of mush."

Cloud just smiled and kept on eating.

For once, John agreed with Joseph. It was the first time in his life that he thought that maybe he should go gay if this was what it did to people. He shook that thought out of his head but then it shifted to thoughts of if he was able to turn his girlfriend into a pile of mush like that.

* * *

Kunsel looked down at Zack. He had called him up to train with him for a couple hours, and the man was in dreamland again. Zack was lying on the floor of the simulation room, sprawled flat on his back and with a silly big grin on his face.

"You obviously made up with Cloud." Kunsel grunted as he put away the practice sword.

"Yup," Zack said, and if it was possible, his smile grew bigger.

Kunsel rolled his eyes. "So he forgives you for being a moron?"

"Yup."

"You have the week off, right?"

"Yup."

"Why aren't you with him, then?"

"He still has patrols," Zack said. "Needed something to do while he was out working." Zack still lay in the middle of the floor, his eyes not focused on anything and his face plastered with a stupid grin.

Kunsel couldn't help but roll his eyes at the besotted man. "You are truly pathetic."

"Yup."

"You are totally smitten with him, aren't you?"

"Yup."

Kunsel kicked at Zack's foot. "Get up. We are done here. Let's go for coffee, you love-struck idiot."

"Sure," Zack said, quickly bouncing to his feet. "You buy this time."

"So," Kunsel said as he patted his friend on the back. "Can I get out of you what happened?"

"Nope."

"Was it smutty?"

"Kunsel!" Zack gave him a push, but Kunsel saw the flush on his cheeks.

~ _very smutty~_

"What? I have to ask when you are walking around like a doofus at the mere mention of your little boyfriend."

"I am not walking around like a doofus!" Zack tried to defend himself, but as he spoke, he walked into the door frame with a pretty hard thump. Kunsel couldn't help but laugh as the blush on his cheeks turned into an embarrassed one as he rubbed his now injured shoulder.

"Okay, a little bit like a doofus," Zack said as he made it through the door, still rubbing his self-inflicted injury.

Kunsel laughed behind his hand. "I am so going to drag those details out of you."

Zack laughed. "Not going to happen, bud."

Kunsel grinned.

~ _I'm always up for a challenge~_

* * *

A little bit of Rufus history… "Weed" is an interesting nickname, isn't it? Reno gets another lecture from Legend. The Spike-brains are so 'dwah' right now.

Next Chapter… Friday 1

AUTHOR PANDERING TIME:

Bibliotary: A TsengxGenesis, yes you heard right. If you lovely readers know of anymore stories with these guys as a couple let me know. I can't find anymore.  
Chocolate Chai: A CloudxZack, hyper Cloud fic, and I have fanart for it... check it out... http: /funkysockzlover . deviantart . com/art/Coffee-for-Cloud-172689213 without the spaces.

And I love.. RinaluffsPokemonboys she made me presents that you can see here. http: /albedosreqium . deviantart . com/art/Mini-Turk-3-172993074 without the spaces. They are so damn cute

I will update my profile page, for ease of access to all the stuff I listed. Hopefully it will distract you form the fact that Friday is coming up.


	45. Friday: Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

**Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

Sephiroth begs Zack to take a mission for him so he can spend some time with… RENO!

Did I finally come to the end of Reno's suffering? Read on, brave readers, read on!

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **Friday: Name**

* * *

Sephiroth stared at his phone, a little annoyed that Zack had just hung up on him. It was a simple request that he take the mission over for him. Zack had started to whine about some plans that he had made. Sephiroth then asked him to do this as a personal favour to him.

Zack went unusually quiet for a moment. "Just a sec," he said and then he hung up the phone. Sephiroth glared at the offending item. It was Friday. He had his plans and he did not want to delay them, and he needed Zack to cover for him.

He had calmed down enough to pick up the phone again and demand an answer as to why he hung up so abruptly, when his office door crashed open and Zack entered. Zack had a large grin on his face as he stormed towards him.

Sephiroth was a bit taken aback as Zack sat on his desk. "Okay, so you're going to tell me why you're personally asking me to take this mission, on my week off."

"Pardon?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "I have plans."

~ _it is none of his business~_

"Okay. Normally, if you don't want a mission, you just refuse the thing. I get the word from Lazard and I go do it. You don't phone and ask me a personal favour," Zack said as he seated himself on the desk and leaned towards him. "So, who is it?"

Sephiroth froze and stared at the amused face of his fellow First.

"Is it Reno?" Zack said and winked at him.

Sephiroth tried to remain still but Zack suddenly burst out laughing. "You have a date! You're making me miss my date so you can go out on a date."

"You had plans?"

Zack waved his hand at him, as if he were dismissing whatever he was going to say next. "I just pushed mine back a day. It's alright. I mean, when does Sephiroth have a date?"

Sephiroth frowned at Zack who looked undeterred by the size of his smile.

"Big plans?"

"It is none of your business, Zackary."

"Geez, calling me Zackary again. I can tell you are hiding something when you start getting all formal like that." Zack jumped from the desk. "You owe me, though. I want … " Zack tapped his chin and stared at the ceiling, pretending to contemplate. "You need to get me another reservation at that Monteno's and pay for it. Cloud really liked that place and I can't afford it on my salary."

Sephiroth sighed.

"Great!" Zack clapped his hands together sharply. "Have fun with Reno." And then he was gone.

Sephiroth wondered if all that really just happened.

~ _whirling dervish~_

But he was a bit worried. It was only two but the hour was approaching and he hoped Reno's trip with his mentor did not make him change his mind.

And then was he supposed to supply dinner? Drinks? What was he going to wear? Genesis was the one that always thought of those things. He ran his hand through his hair. He felt like a moron and almost thought of calling Zack back, but refrained. He didn't want to feel any more awkward than he already did.

He should have food for him. A nice meal, but what did he like to eat? He knew from what he could discern from his research on the Turk, that he ate out a lot and it wasn't the cheap fast food. He liked fancier foods. He had choices. He could get Monteno's to deliver something or have Wutaian.

Wutaian would be the better choice, he decided. Monteno's was to far away anyway and he preferred Wutaian food.

~ _also reheats well, if we get distracted~_

He had some sake that would go well with it. He knew that Reno liked vodka and he still had some that Genesis had always sipped sitting in the back of a cupboard.

He had never done anything like this before. Genesis had always been the romantic aggressor in the relationship and he would come back to his apartment to find food, candles or just Genesis waiting for him.

He didn't want Reno to think that it was just a fuck-and-run type of arrangement and he knew that he had to do something for him.

This was new ground for him.

~ _maybe if you did something like that for Genesis, he wouldn't have left~_

He brushed that thought aside and went about to prepare for his evening.

* * *

Reno was nervous as hell; nervous and anxious. Rude kept giving him strange looks, but was not asking him any questions.

When he asked him if he had plans for the night, he just said he was busy. Rude didn't push any further but kept giving him 'the look'. He hardly accomplished anything upon his return. He got another lecture from Legend before he left.

~ _all I could dream about was that hair in my hands~_

He had changed his clothes. He figured that he shouldn't show up wearing his work clothes. He had bought some new ones in Costa del Sol just for the evening. He bought a simple pair of light blue jeans that fit a little loose, casual style. The snug V neck t-shirt was light green that he knew looked good with his hair. He even bought new shoes. They were a pair of white loafers.

~ _preening like a teenage girl~_

He had fussed with his hair and was a bundle of nerves. He pulled out his flask and filled it with vodka after taking a sip of it to bolster his courage and taper his excitement.

"I'm either the luckiest guy in the world or the stupidest," Reno muttered to himself in the mirror, took another sip from his flask before he slipped it into his back pocket. He pulled out the key card and started to make his way to the SOLDIER floor.

He was a little nervous walking there. After all, Rufus hadn't cornered him in the last couple of weeks and he was scared of another ambush. He had been careful to try to avoid any place where he could be cornered.

When the elevator opened onto the SOLDIER floor, he pulled the flask out of his back pocket and took another drink. He needed it to get his feet working.

Thinking that Sephiroth was waiting for him …

~ _or if it is some sort of sick joke~_

He didn't want to think about it. Sephiroth was not one to make some sort of sick game out of things.

~ _I hope~_

He walked to the room that he knew was Sephiroth's. He held the card and took a couple of deep breaths. He gave the door two quick taps and then swiped the card. He opened the door and walked into Sephiroth's apartment.

"Hello?" he called as he entered. Sephiroth's apartment was massive, much larger than Zack's.

~ _well, he is the elite of the elite~_

For some reason he expected the place to be devoid of colour and be all black and chrome, like he wore in his day to day clothes. But the apartment was decorated warmly with a soft blue on the entryway walls and had a mahogany wood bench.

~ _Sephiroth is not as cold as he gives his public image~_

"I'm in the dining room," he heard Sephiroth call and he followed the sound of his voice.

The sight of Sephiroth took his breath away. Sephiroth was not wearing his usual uniform either. He was wearing a black pair of jeans that held snug to his legs and a brilliant green button down dress shirt that was the same colour as his eyes. And having it open at his throat was remarkably sexy-looking.

~ _despite the fact that he saw the man's chest on a regular basis~_

"I hope you like Wutaian food," Sephiroth said, shaking him out of his trance to notice that there was a small feast on the table.

"Whoa, what a spread." He smiled and saw that Sephiroth looked relieved.

The food looked and smelled good. He didn't realize he was hungry until he looked at the food. He hadn't eaten all day because he was so damn nervous with the thought of what he was doing right now.

"Have a seat." Sephiroth directed Reno to a chair. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Sure." Reno sat in the chair offered and looked at the food in front of him. "Whatcha got?"

Sephiroth listed a bunch of stuff off but Reno stopped him when he said he had some Banora apple vodka. He had been sipping on it all day as it was, it would be best not to mix alcohols. He asked for it mixed with ginger ale, instead of the straight stuff that he had in the flask in his back pocket.

It felt a little odd to be served by Sephiroth, but at the same time he was appreciating how he was trying to make him comfortable …

~ _Rufus would have already tied me to a chair or something~_

… and it was working.

"Dig in," Sephiroth said, motioning to the food. "I am afraid that I didn't specifically know what you liked so I just ordered a bunch of different items."

"Is this from Shans?" he asked as he grabbed some noodles and was eyeballing the lemon chicken.

"Yes," Sephiroth said and sat beside him - not across the table, but beside him. It made him a little nervous but as the conversation turned from food and into the more mundane things around Shin-Ra, they both started to relax. By the time they got to the dessert, which was simple berries with whipped cream, they were talking about Reeve being seen carrying stuffed animals around, or Scarlet's now famous wardrobe malfunction. It was the first time that he had heard Sephiroth chuckle.

The man had a nice laugh and Reno told him so. "What else can I do to get you to laugh?" Reno said, as he reached forward to nab a berry off his plate and quickly popped it into his mouth, licking the whipped cream off his fingers. Sephiroth smiled as he picked up a berry with his fork and held it out to him.

"I'm sure there will be other opportunities." The timber in his voice caused Reno to shiver. He leaned forward and slowly took the berry off the fork with his teeth.

Reno licked his lips dramatically as he leaned back. He could see Sephiroth's eyes moving up and down his body. Sephiroth laid the fork down beside his half-eaten dessert. "Do you wish to listen to some music in the living room?"

Sephiroth looked a little nervous again. He was making the General nervous.

~ _talk about stroking a guy's ego~_

 _~would rather having him stroke other things~_

He shook his head to push the thought aside. "That'd be great, yo." He stood and so did Sephiroth. He wanted to grab hold of that green shirt and just get the tension of the first kiss of the night over with. As Reno turned to go to the living room, he felt Sephiroth's hand on his back, ushering him forward.

His hand felt nice on his back.

The living room was just as warmly decorated with soft-looking brown leather couches and the same mahogany tables with blue-coloured walls. He sat on the couch and Sephiroth sat close to him. He sank in a bit in the surprisingly comfortable couch. Sephiroth grabbed a remote and turned on some music. It sounded like something that Tseng would have liked, but he didn't object. It was relaxing.

Sephiroth leaned back and Reno found his thigh pressed against his. The calm atmosphere that they had before was now wrapped in tension.

"Well, hell," Reno said.

"Pardon?"

Reno decided if Sephiroth was going to be a hesitant bastard about this whole thing, despite how bold he was with the proposal, he was going to make the first move.

He leaned forward and kissed the man. Not a gentle peck on the cheek, either. He threaded his hand quickly behind the back of Sephiroth's head and kissed him forcefully. It didn't take long for Sephiroth to respond back.

~ _fuck ~_

Sephiroth had been holding back on the kiss in that small coffee room. If he had been kissed like this, he wouldn't have cared if that guy was watching them. He would have found a closet so that they could have continued.

Strong hands gripped his shoulders and kept him close. Reno closed his eyes and hummed as his tongue invaded his mouth and seemed to consume him.

~ _so damn good~_

Sephiroth pulled back sharply but didn't let him go. "Were you getting impatient?" Sephiroth's smile went straight to his eyes. One of his hands went to touch his jaw and caressed it. He moved into that touch.

"Damn right," Reno whispered, allowing his own hand to grab a handful of the silver hair and thread it through his fingers again.

Sephiroth ran his hand to the back of his neck, tilting his head to the side, and softly hummed. He could feel his fingers moving around the back of his neck and then that hand moved away. He felt his hair falling loose behind him and he saw Sephiroth throw his hairband onto the table.

"That's better," Sephiroth whispered and then his amazing green eyes focused on his. Reno had not paid attention to Sephiroth's eyes this close before. The intense look and green glow of mako was breathtaking when there was lust mixed in. "You have got some sun," Sephiroth whispered as he ran his hands over his neck and down to his shirt. "You must have had some fun in Costa."

"Spent a lot of time on the beach and got my daily dose of vitamin D," Reno said, enjoying the touch. Sephiroth certainly seemed relaxed and was getting into things now. He leaned back against the couch as Sephiroth's hands raked down his stomach. "It seems you have quite a tan line." Sephiroth chuckled as he pulled the shirt up slightly and exposed Reno's white belly.

There was no way he would take his shirt off on the beach. He did not want people looking at or asking about the tattoos that marred his back. He would rather have a pathetic tan line than deal with that. It was bad enough when people wanted to touch his face and ask about those.

"You're one to talk." Reno grunted. "I don't think I have ever seen you with a tan, yo." He ran his hands up Sephiroth's arms and noticed how fine a material the man's shirt was and how wonderfully strong those muscles felt beneath that shirt.

~ _must take the shirt off~_

Sephiroth chuckled and Reno did enjoy that sound. He bravely reached a hand to start to undo the shirt. Sephiroth didn't stop him as his hand moved across his belly. "I don't tan."

"At all?" Reno asked as he fiddled with the buttons. He tried to do it with one hand but was failing miserably. He brought his other hand up and now was able to succeed in undoing the buttons to reveal Sephiroth's chest and belly. He was grateful that Sephiroth did not have the shirt tucked into his pants.

~ _how does Rufus do it with one hand?~_

"At all. I tried even sleeping in one of those tanning beds so I wouldn't be so ghostly as a teenager and came out with nothing." Sephiroth leaned back and let that shirt fall off his shoulders and crumple to the floor.

Reno blinked. It wasn't like this was the first time he had ever seen Sephiroth without a shirt before. The man never wore a shirt underneath his jacket and often trained without it, but this was different. He hadn't been hovering right in front of him. He leaned back into the couch and admired the sight.

He was like a god.

~ _a god that wanted him~_

"You'd look funny with a tan, yo."

Sephiroth turned to him and raised an eyebrow. He reached up and brushed his hair over one of his shoulders in an unconsciously dramatic sweep. He gave him a strange look. "And why would you say that?"

Reno chuckled and leaned forward, grabbing a handful of the silver hair and tugging gently on it. "You'd look like a palomino."

Sephiroth stilled for a moment and then let out a loud laugh. "I never thought of it that way."

~ _how can he be even more gorgeous when he laughs?~_

"Maybe it is a good thing that it never worked," Sephiroth said as he recovered. Reno tugged on the hair and Sephiroth leaned into him. Reno quickly took advantage of the closeness and kissed him. This time it was neither of them dominating, but sharing; their tongues caressed and tasted each other. Reno touched one of his hands onto the muscular thigh and kept the other in the wash of silver hair. One of Sephiroth's hands moved to the back of his head and he could feel the other burning through the fabric of his pants.

The kiss was turning his brain into mush but he didn't want it to stop. Breathing was becoming difficult and he had to pull away, falling back into the couch; Sephiroth was still hovering over him with a flush on his cheeks.

~ _damn, totally an Adonis~_

A smile slowly crept across Sephiroth's face and Reno was a bit startled by the quick movement of his hands as his shirt was removed and tossed aside. Reno frowned. "Yo, ya could've given me some warnin'."

"And where's the fun in that?" Sephiroth teased and had his hands on his bare sides. "You hide a mighty fine form underneath your normally sloppy clothes."

Reno blushed at that and couldn't respond. Sephiroth saying that made his already stiffening problem even more prominent. He relaxed into the back of the couch and the touches. "Fine indeed," Sephiroth muttered under his breath.

Reno just about lost his mind at Sephiroth's next move. He held his breath as Sephiroth's head dipped down and kissed his chest.

~ _I can die now~_

He threw his head back on the couch and revelled in the feeling of the warm kiss and the hands roaming up and down his side. He let out a horribly embarrassing groan at the attention. It caused Sephiroth to chuckle but it didn't stop the attention that he was paying to his chest. Reno threaded a hand through that silver hair as he moved around his chest. He was about to ask him what he was going to do when he felt his mouth cover one of his nipples and suck gently. The feeling sent electricity running down his spine and made him squirm. He gripped the larger man's shoulder with his other hand. Sephiroth's tongue then moved around his hardened nub and he flicked it - rapidly and fast with his wet muscle.

Reno cried out, not knowing if he should push him away or tell him to keep going. It was unbelievably exciting. Sephiroth chuckled and he felt his strong hands keep him pinned down as he moved to pay attention to the other side.

Reno thought he was going to melt with the attention that he was given. Sephiroth pulled away from his hard nub with a small nip and looked down at him. "I think we need to move to the bedroom."

Reno let his firm grip go on the mass of silver hair and allowed his arms to collapse at his side. "Shit," was all that Reno was able to get out of his mouth.

Sephiroth purred and moved down for a kiss. Reno let him come down to him, not trusting himself to not crush his lips. The kiss was soft and almost tender - just their lips touching.

"You taste good," Sephiroth said as they parted.

"Ditto," Reno said breathlessly as those green eyes glowed as he looked at him. Sephiroth's face was nearly soft. A side of him that he had never seen of the General. He didn't know if he should be scared or honoured.

~ _be honoured~_

Sephiroth pulled back and stood over him and held out his hand. "It will be more comfortable in the bedroom."

~ _holy shit, this is really gonna happen~_

"I think I need another drink, yo," Reno said as he grabbed his hand to be pulled up into his arms. He fell into that broad chest and ran his hands over it, enjoying the feel of the strong muscles twitching under his hand.

"Let's grab the bottle and retire to the bedroom," Sephiroth offered. Reno swayed as the hands rand down his shoulders and back.

"Sounds like a wonderful plan, yo." Reno couldn't help but imagine how it would feel and look to have him pouring that bottle across his skin and licking it up. Reno groaned and rested his head against Sephiroth's chest. "Fricken' wonderful."

Sephiroth moved back from him. "You will have to let me go for me to get it."

He complied. He didn't really want to break contact. He was enjoying this all too much. Sephiroth was quick and returned with the bottle of vodka. He handed it over to Reno. Reno then remembered that he still had that flask in his back pocket and he could have taken a swig of that. But he took the bottle that was offered and took a quick drink. Sephiroth gave him a kiss afterward, his tongue moving around his mouth as if he wanted to consume him. He felt himself being moved, or more like ushered, but was blind to the direction they were going. All he could focus on was the warm, large body and the mouth that was kissing him.

They finally broke the kiss and Reno found himself in Sephiroth's bedroom.

~ _Fuck, I'm in the god's bedroom~_

The room, again, was nothing like what he expected it to be.

~ _except for the largest bed in the world~_

The wall colours were darker - a rusty shade of orange. The end tables were a light beech wood along with the dresser and sitting chair that was in the corner. The bed sheets were a dark grey with white pattern and there looked to be a lot of blankets.

Sephiroth walked to his bed and sat down, his pale skin contrasting against the darker colours of the sheets. Sephiroth patted the spot on the bed next to him.

Reno refrained from groaning at the sexy 'come-hither' look that Sephiroth was giving him.

~ _if I get any harder I'm gonna rip my pants~_

He took another swig out of the bottle before he placed it on the end table and turned his attention to Sephiroth. He didn't bother to sit beside him like the General had indicated.

He moved in front of Sephiroth and set himself down into his lap, throwing his arms firmly around him and began to kiss his neck. Sephiroth had given a grunt but moved his head to allow himself to be kissed.

As Reno kissed, he felt the large hand roam down his back and then cup his bottom, where Sephiroth squeezed him firmly.

Reno chuckled against his throat. He could feel the growing pressure against his thigh. He found himself being flipped onto the bed and being pleasantly crushed under the larger man. Sephiroth had his hands at the front of his pants and scrambled with his button. He would have helped but he was too busy grabbing Sephiroth's hair.

Reno groaned Sephiroth's name.

Sephiroth got his pants undone and didn't waste any time reaching inside and palming him. Reno yelled at the touch and pulled on Sephiroth's hair. He thought that he heard another laugh but his heart was racing too much for him to make sure he was hearing things right.

Sephiroth's hand was massaging him through his underwear. "Do you like that?" His voice rumbled in his ear.

"Fuck, yeah," he whispered as he threw his head back. He was going to lose it if he kept that motion up. He pulled on that hair and got a grunt out of the other man.

"You will have to let go of my hair for a moment." Reno complied with a small frown. Sephiroth moved away so that he was standing over him. He glowed in the dim light. He wanted to remember everything about this - the smile that was on his lips, how his chest moved and how Sephiroth even had a flush on his cheeks.

He watched as Sephiroth ran his hands down to his own pants and popped the button open.

Reno started to hyperventilate.

~ _it's gonna happen~_

Sephiroth laughed as he undid the zipper. Reno licked his lips in anticipation at the sight of the man. He watched Sephiroth's hands hook his pants by his hips and lowered his pants slightly. Reno could see the black underwear straining beneath and he really wanted to get his hands on that.

"Just take it off already."

Sephiroth's lips twitched. "Impatient, are we?"

"Damn right. Take off your pants already!" Reno started to wiggle out of his and pull off his underwear which was too tight anyway. He threw the clothes aside and tried to make his eyes meet Sephiroth's instead of what was still being hidden from his view.

~ _more tempting things are still hiding~_

"Then get back over here."

Reno crawled up on the bed, naked and very excited. He turned to see that Sephiroth no longer had his pants on but he still had a pair of black underwear. He swallowed hard at the sight of the bulge and found himself twisting with excitement.

~ _I need another drink~_

He reached for the bottle and took another drink, his eyes turning to see Sephiroth remove the last of his clothing.

He nearly dropped the bottle at the sight. Sephiroth's eyes were a blaze as he sat on the bed and moved towards him. He was again covered by the man and he felt his talented mouth surround one of his nipples again. He didn't hold back his cry or the urge to arch into the larger form. He grabbed a handful of Sephiroth's hair and wound it around his hand. "Damn it, Seph," Reno panted. "Your tongue is gonna kill me."

Sephiroth just grunted and his mouth moved to his neck and he began to nibble along his collar bone. Reno whimpered and hated that he was being so pathetic and needy. Sephiroth shifted around him and he didn't realize what he was doing until he felt a hand wrap around his dick and grip him firmly.

Reno threw his head back and pressed into the hand.

~ _his hands are fuckin' huge~_

Sephiroth chuckled lightly and he felt his teeth on his ear. "You like that?"

"Yes." Reno hissed in pleasure.

He felt those fingers start to move and Reno could already feel the rush in his belly.

"I'm not gonna …" Reno gasped as he felt a thumb rub along the ridge of the head of his dick and it wasn't going to be much longer if he kept this up. "Gonna blow." Reno panted as his body thrummed with electricity as he felt the climax quickly approaching. The feeling was all he could focus on as it completely consumed his every nerve.

"Don't hold back." Sephiroth's hand increased its speed and Reno doubted he could even if he hadn't spent the last three months or so getting worked up, teased and tempted at every turn.

The thrill and sensations became too much. He tugged on Sephiroth's hair hard as his stomach roiled and released the tension. He could feel his fluids spill forward as his whole body quivered from the aftermath of the heavenly orgasm that Sephiroth gave him. He ignored the wetness that was covering him and most likely Sephiroth as well. He was feeling much too good for letting something like that ruin such a wonderful feeling.

When his panting slowed down, Sephiroth kissed him - a deep probing and almost tender kiss. As they parted, he let go of his death grip that he had in Sephiroth's hair and went to stroking it tenderly as he moaned out Sephiroth's name.

Sephiroth hummed and whispered a name as well.

The name froze him cold and chilled his blood. The post orgasmic thrill was lost in a moment. The pleasure was replaced by an unbearable pain that crawled and burned through his chest. He fought the tears that were threatening to come to his eyes but he stopped them from falling.

"Get off me," Reno managed to say and Sephiroth complied by releasing him and rolling off to the side.

Reno looked over to the silver-haired man. He wasn't looking at him. His head was staring at a spot on the sheets. Reno wanted to be mad but he was too hurt to be mad - mad and humiliated.

How could he have thought that this would have worked? He swung himself off the bed and started gathering his clothes, not even looking at the still man on the bed. It hurt to even think of looking at him; seeing his discarded clothes around the bed was enough to make him feel ill.

"I didn't mean to say that name," Sephiroth whispered.

He looked over to the man on the bed. His face was hidden behind a curtain of hair but he didn't look up from whatever spot interested him on the bed.

Reno had to look away. "I'm sure ya didn't."

He went to the living room, feeling completely disgusted with himself as he was still covered with his sticky aftermath. He frowned as he used the bright green shirt that Sephiroth had discarded to wipe himself off before he put on the rest of his clothes.

He pulled the flask out of his back pocket and took a drink, finishing off what remained inside.

~ _I should have listened to Legend~_

He threw the card on the shirt he had used as a towel. He didn't look to the bedroom where Sephiroth had not emerged and didn't want him to.

He tried to take another drink out of the flask but then he remembered that it was empty.

"I need another drink," Reno muttered as he left the apartment to go back to his own where he could be alone in his ever increasing misery.

* * *

Crabofdoom on DA influenced me on the Sephiroth with a tan. He drew a pic of him with a tan… and well, the white hair does make him look like a palomino…

OMG… this is the ultimate poor Reno chapter!  
And now I will run and hide from all the weapons, shovels and bamboo sticks that are surely going to come at me. I have a shelter made just for this chapter.

 **But I will remind you that Friday is not over yet. SO DON'T KILL ME!**


	46. Friday: Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

**Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

Reno drinks too much and Cloud comforts him.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **Friday 2: Kiss**

* * *

"Come on, Cloud," Joseph said, bouncing around the cot. "John can't come out because he screwed up his knee in practice, and it's my birthday."

"You had a birthday in December." Cloud didn't look up from his book that he was reading.

"Your Sugar-Daddy cancelled on you, so you can go out with me!" Joseph whined.

Cloud looked up from his book in enough time to see John throw a cup at Joseph. "Shut up! You're going with Benot and Cyrus, you aren't going alone."

"But …"

"Don't listen to him, Cloud. He only plans on getting you drunk so that he can try to find out who your Sugar-Daddy is anyway."

"That's not the only reason," Joseph said. "Cloud makes Dean jealous and I need to get him worked up so that he'll move on in."

"You are truly pathetic," John mumbled from his cot, adjusting an ice pack on his swollen leg.

"He won't admit he wants me!"

Cloud rolled his eyes at the two and went back to reading his book. It was true that Zack cancelled on him, but with promises that he was going to make up for it. He said that something extremely important came up, and from the sound of his voice he didn't really have any reason to doubt him, but he couldn't deny that he was a little bummed out.

"Cloud!" He was a bit startled as the book was ripped from his hands. Joseph glared down at him. "Quit ignoring me. I want to go dancing and drinking and you need to come with me to make Dean jealous."

"I have some reading to catch up on. I'm behind in my studies," Cloud said. He was a little behind. He still had a stupid assignment to finish that he only had the title for.

"Like you need to study." Joseph then fell to his knees, took a pleading pose and started to repeat the word 'please'.

Cloud sighed heavily, moved his foot so that it was firmly placed on his shoulder and shoved. "Quit being pathetic." Joseph sprawled on the floor with a laugh.

"Come on, you can join me for a couple of hours. You can't always be at your Sugar-Daddy's beck and call," Joseph said as he made himself comfortable on the floor.

"I am not at his beck and call," Cloud said frowning at the man on the floor.

"Yeah, right. You hold on to that phone as if it's a lifeline," Joseph said as he put his arms behind his head and crossed his legs. "Well, when you're not mad at him."

Cloud looked down at him and wanted to stomp on him again, but he held back.

~ _am I acting all needy like that?~_

"It's just a night out. We can have a few pops and you can help me make sure that Dean gets all jealous and gets drunk enough to make his move," Joseph said.

"Pops?" John said from his cot. "What the hell? Are you forty or something? Get off the floor and get dressed. I don't want to see you flouncing around in your boxers."

Joseph got up and hovered over John, swooping down to give him a quick kiss. John spluttered and swung at Joseph who was pretty quick. "You should quit being in denial about being gay."

John wiped his mouth and let out a colourful array of curses. "If my knee wasn't blown, I would beat you senseless. Jerk!"

Joseph laughed as he went to his cot and pulled out some clothes for a night out. "Come on, Cloud. A couple of hours and a few dances will be all that it will take for Dean to get worked up. He needs a push to make his move. He's so close," Joseph pleaded. "If you wear those brown come-fuck-me pants and that snug black shirt with the blue design on it, you'll totally get Dean all jealous."

~ _come-fuck-me pants?~_

"Oh, don't give me that look," Joseph said, waving the shirt he was holding at him. "You know which pants I'm talking about. They totally scream, 'fuck me', and will totally make Dean get all possessive over me."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "You want to use me as a game piece in your ploy to get laid."

"Well, duh," Joseph said as he pulled on his shirt.

John scoffed. "If he gets laid, maybe he'll shut up."

Cloud recovered his book and went back to reading. He didn't pay much attention to Joseph any longer and didn't hear others come in. When the book was torn from his hands again he was prepared to yell at Joseph, but it was Cyrus looming over him. "Why aren't you dressed to go out?"

"I'm not going out," Cloud said and tried to grab his book back.

"Yes, you are," Cyrus said. "You owe me a drink."

"Since when?"

"Since you pushed a rib into my lung, I think you owe me a drink or two," Cyrus said with his arms crossed as if he was protecting his chest.

Cloud thought about arguing but stopped himself. "Yeah. I guess I kinda owe you an apology for that, huh?" Cloud sheepishly smiled at the larger man.

"Darn right," Cyrus said.

Something was thrown at him and he turned around to see that his brown pants were now lying on the bed. Joseph was grinning from ear to ear. "Hurry up and let's go."

* * *

"Hey, look," Joseph said as he grabbed his shoulders and turned him around. "I thought your Sugar-Daddy was busy tonight?"

Cloud looked over, instinctively looking for Zack, but only saw Reno. He swatted at Joseph and pushed him off.

Reno looked a little … off. He was dressed quite nicely, as if he were going to the bar, with some slightly baggy jeans and snug shirt. He was even wearing his hair down, which was unusual for him.

"You should ask him to join us," Joseph said and pushed him forward.

Cloud shook his head but walked towards Reno. "Hey," he called. Reno's head shot up and Cloud saw that he had a pack of smokes. He was bringing one of the smokes to his lips. "I thought you quit."

"Need this, yo," Reno said as he put the smoke to his lips. Cloud could see the strain on his face.

~ _something bad must have happened~_

"My flask is empty and I need another drink, yo." Reno's voice sounded strained and Cloud could see it on his face.

"What happened?" Cloud's first thought was that it had to do with Legend. He remembered Reno saying something about his mentor being in the infirmary. He hoped that it didn't get worse for him.

Reno shook his head. "Doesn't matter." He started to walk away. Cloud grabbed his arm and he thought that he was going to lose it for a moment. Reno turned quickly. Cloud had a look as if he thought that he was going to hit him. "Sorry, Cloud."

"Why don't you come out with us?" Cloud nodded towards his friends. "It'll take your mind off whatever is bothering you and I will buy you a drink." Cloud smiled brightly and added, "Even though you still owe me." He was hoping to cheer up the man. Cloud was a little worried about Reno; he was usually so quick to smile and joke. He had never seen Reno look so down in his life.

"I do owe ya still, don't I?" Reno said and it looked like he attempted to smile, but failed.

"You sure do," Cloud said, wrapping his arm around Reno's shoulder and started to steer him to his group of friends. Reno seemed tense. "We can go for a couple of hours and then you can tell me what's going on."

"I dunno," Reno said and looked behind him.

"What? Are you going to sulk in your room on your own?" Cloud said. "You talk about me brooding. You helped me out, so I owe you, too."

Reno made a small grunt. "Do I have to deal with the Blue Flame over there?" Cloud looked over to Joseph who was clinging to an annoyed Cyrus' arm.

"We just got to pawn him off on Dean as soon as possible," Cloud said. "Come on, Reno. What are you going to do if you go back to your place?"

"I dunno. Drink myself to sleep?" Reno mumbled.

Cloud didn't want to leave him alone and looking so sad, even though he was thinking that going to the bar may not be the best for him.

Reno pulled himself straight and put on a large smile, which was a little scary. "Why the hell not!" He put his arm around Cloud's shoulders. "What do I have to lose anyway?"

* * *

Cloud's worry increased as the night went on. The first thing Reno did when they entered the bar was ordered two shots of rye and handed one to him.

"Rye?" Cloud asked. "Since when do you drink that?"

"Starting today. Kinda lost my taste for vodka yo," Reno said as he downed the shot and Cloud downed his. He ordered a mixed drink with the same rye and Cloud brought him a beer. The group walked over to a table and Reno just put himself in a corner, ordering another drink as the waitress walked by.

He could see that Reno was trying to force a smile and his conversation with the others. He was normally so laid back that he didn't mind talking with his friends, even if Joseph annoyed the hell out of him. He kept on lapsing into silences and frowning.

"Dean's looking," Joseph said and wrapped himself around his waist. "Dance with me so he can cut in." Cloud wanted to tell Joseph no, and force Reno to tell him what was wrong. A man had slid beside Reno and they had seemed to be having a civil conversation, so he thought he was going to be okay for a little while, so he let Joseph drag him onto the dance floor.

It only took one song …

~ _didn't help that Joseph was grinding against me~_

… before Dean came over and tried not to be possessive. Cloud was glad to get off the dance floor and away from a drunken Dean who was dragging Joseph over to the other side of the bar. Joseph had a large grin on his face as he waved at him.

Before he could return to the table, he was grabbed by Cyrus who wanted his drink, so he went to the bar and bought the drink and apologized for hitting him so hard in the training session. Cyrus laughed at him. "You should be like that all the time. You would be higher on your physical marks if you were like that."

He got a pat on the back and then Benot handed him a drink. "You better watch your Sugar-Daddy over there. He's going to get picked up by that other guy."

He looked around for Zack, when he realized that they were talking about Reno.

~ _I got to stop equating 'Sugar-Daddy' to Zack~_

Reno looked like he was getting pretty cozy with the guy and there were way too many drinks in front of him for that to be a good thing. Reno was looking quite drunk and still quite sad - not a good combination.

Cloud returned to the table to see that the man was leaning heavily into him and had his arm securely around Reno's waist; a hand lifted up his shirt and rubbed his bare side. Reno didn't seem to care but Cloud arrived in time to see the man reach up to touch the tattoos on Reno's face. He watched as Reno tensed, and he grit his teeth as the man's fingers ran over the markings. He heard the words the man said and grew angry, "So, how much do you cost?"

Cloud could see the tension in Reno's body coil and anger rising to the surface.

Cloud decided it was time that this man went packing. He pushed himself against the other side of Reno, forcefully removing the man's arm from around Reno's slender waist and placing his there. The way he positioned himself it forced Reno to lean against him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cloud said and glared at the man, who still wasn't backing away. "Get away from us."

The stranger sneered and finally stood up from his chair. "Whatever. Looks like you would be too cheap anyway if a runt like that can afford you." The man turned and walked away. Cloud held onto Reno, squeezing his sides to make sure that he didn't jump the man. He could see the anger in his aqua eyes. "It's not worth it, Reno. Calm down."

Reno eventually slumped. "Yeah, I know." Reno's eyes turned to stare at the empty glass on the table. "I need more of this stuff, yo."

Cloud kept his arm around his waist and leaned close. "I'll get you another drink, if you tell me what happened."

Reno held the empty cup and swirled the remaining ice as if he was contemplating what he should say next. He nodded his head. "Spiced rum and cola, please."

Cloud waved down a waitress and ordered himself one too. He kept his arm wrapped around Reno's waist and noticed that he was trembling slightly.

 _~what happened to Reno to upset him so much?~_

"What happened?" Cloud rubbed his back. He could feel Reno shiver at his touch. He really wanted to know what had upset him so badly.

"I'm apparently cheap," Reno whispered. He ran his hand down his face and he looked so tired. He seemed to slump further.

"Hey. You aren't going to take what that guy said to heart. He's a jerk and a nobody," Cloud said. He looked in the direction of where the guy had walked and saw him checking out a woman in the far corner.

"It's not just him sayin' it, yo."

The waitress approached and Reno pointed to his glass. Cloud shook his head as he had hardly touched his.

"Who else is saying it?" Cloud asked.

Reno swirled the ice in his cup. "I need a smoke, yo." He shakily stood up.

~ _avoiding again~_

Cloud sipped his drink and Benot slipped in beside him. "What the hell is with him?"

Cloud could only shrug.

Reno came back from his smoke but didn't tell him about what was bothering him, even though he seemed to be slipping deeper and deeper into a depression. Cloud was of mind to take Reno home over how drunk he had become. Cloud doubted that he could drink much more either as his plan to loosen Reno's tongue with booze was affecting him as well.

~ _not my best plan~_

Cloud was leaning against the wall as he was a little unsteady on his feet, when Reno suddenly smashed his fist against the table, causing everyone nearby to look at him.

"It's Reno. Reno!" He exclaimed and grabbed Cloud's arm. He was a little alarmed by the grip. "Re," he drew his first syllable out and then his last one as well, "no. Reno. What's so fuckin' hard about that, yo?" The question was not directed at anyone. It seemed to be directed at the drink sitting in front of him.

Everyone looked at Reno with a confused look and a few people started to walk away. Cloud moved to lean against the table in front of Reno.

"It's not a hard name, right?" Reno said as his slightly glazed eyes turned to Cloud's. "Reno. Reno, Reno, Reno." Each time he took the time to enunciate his name.

"It's not a hard name," Cloud responded, only to see Reno frown.

"That's what I fuckin' thought, yo," Reno blurted in a loud drunken voice. "I mean, what the fuck!" He then downed the rest of the drink that was sitting in front of him and wiped his mouth on his bare arm.

Cloud put a hand on his shoulder. "Your name is fine, Reno."

Reno placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder and pulled him closer and in a very loud drunken whisper asked, "It sounds nothin' like Generr-Genill-Genesis, right?"

 _~Genesis? What the hell?~_

"No," Cloud said immediately. "What happened?"

"Ya know. I didn't expect him to be all, like, lovey-dovey an' all that. I mean, the man ain't all rainbows an' unicorns, yo," Reno said, his grip increasing on his shoulder so that he was pulled closer. Cloud just observed the strange drunken Turk and tried to understand who he was really talking about.

"Did one of your Sugar-Daddies hurt you?" Cloud finally got out.

Reno nodded and pressed both his hands to his face for a moment and gave out a drunken scream against them before he dropped them to the table. "I'm not fuckin' dealin' with those two ever again!" He slapped his fist against the table. "I'm Reno! R. E. N. O. Reno, yo."

Cloud grabbed a chair and sat beside him as being pulled and tugged back and forth was a little dizzying. "I know that," Cloud said. "One of them called you Genesis?"

"At the worst time, yo," Reno said. "I need another drink."

"I think we've had enough." He hadn't planned on drinking that much to begin with, but trying to get information out of Reno kept him asking for more drinks from the bar.

"But I don' wanna remember today," Reno said with a whine that almost sounded like it was coming from a little child. "I wanna get so fuckin' drunk that I forget the las' week."

Cloud reached out to him and tried to comfort him. "It won't change anything." Reno rocked at the touch and his face seemed to fall.

"Man. My life sucks, yo," Reno said.

"Why would someone call you Genesis?" Cloud pondered. He didn't know the man other than from the pictures and the clones they fought, and he didn't see any similarity between the two. He looked at Reno and tried to see any. "You don't even have the same shade of hair."

"Thank you," Reno said and then sat up straight. "Yo, babes." He held up his glass. "Hit me and my bud up with another one!" Before Cloud could tell the waitress that they didn't need another one, she already walked off.

"I'm not Gessss … that guy. I'm Reno," Reno said proudly. He slapped Cloud on the back which caused him to sway.

~ _I really don't need another drink~_

"Uh-huh," Cloud said. "So, whatcha gonna do?" His own mind was feeling a bit muddled right now.

"I'm quittin' men!" Reno said, slapping the table.

Cloud blinked. "You goin' straight?"

Reno laughed. "Nah. Don't like boobs," he said and slapped his shoulder again. Cloud rubbed it. It was going to be sore in the morning if Reno kept slapping him like that. "Jus' not gonna deal with anyone anymore, yo. Off the market forever and ever and everyone else can go stuff themselves."

"But that's no fun," Cloud said with a frown. "Just because your Sugar-Daddies were jerks doesn't mean you have to suffer."

Reno seemed to be thinking about it as new drinks were placed in front of them and Reno handed over the money. Cloud just looked at his. He didn't even know what it was but it was glowing under the blacklights.

~ _that can't be good~_

"You're lucky," Reno blurted after he downed half of the glowing liquid in front of him. Reno slapped his shoulder again. This time, it nearly knocked him over. "Your Sugar-Daddy doesn't call you by another man's name."

Cloud shook his head. "But he's got a hero complex." He scoffed.

~ _which is why he's out on a mission on his day off~_

"Better that than a gesss … whatever complex," Reno said. "What the hell would it be, yo?" Reno chuckled. "I think my brain is broken."

Cloud snorted and held his drink. "Your brain has always been broken." Cloud slapped his shoulder and Reno nearly fell over. Reno started to laugh and Cloud started to giggle.

He knew he had too much to drink when he started to giggle. He hated when he couldn't control the laughter.

He heard - he swore it was Cyrus - but couldn't be sure, "Cloud's cut off. He's giggling like a schoolgirl again." The glowing drink was placed in front of him with a large glass of water. He was grateful. He didn't want to end up puking his guts out.

Someone yelled something about pushing the two lushes together and he felt himself being moved beside Reno. Reno's laughing died down and his followed suit.

"You're are rrreally lucky, yo," Reno said and leaned against him. "Ya got chourself a great guy with a great butt."

That caused Cloud to start giggling again.

"He does," Reno said, sounding offended.

Cloud tried to stifle his giggling. "I know. He does," he said through giggles. "You were staring at it too." He remembered the night of the bet and how they had both started laughing as they were admiring the SOLDIER's butt. The memory made him smile and he looked to Reno who was frowning.

"I shouldn't have made that stilly bet, yo." His voice was low.

~ _stilly?~_

Cloud leaned against him. "Why?" Cloud asked. The bet brought him and Zack together. It was a silly way to say that he gained a boyfriend, but it is what happened.

"You two are hot together," Reno said. Cloud felt his face start to burn. "You both are! Kissing like that in front of me, was, whoa." Reno swayed.

"Like, whoa." Cloud started to giggle again. He grabbed the glass of water in front of him and took a big drink, trying to stop the giggles.

"Yeah," Reno said. The tone of his voice was so sad, and his shoulders slumped again.

Cloud put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "You'll find someone," Cloud said, knowing that the words would seem hollow. He knew that Reno was hurting. Cloud wished he could help the redhead more than just with his words.

"I shouldn't have drank so much," Reno whispered and swirled his empty cup in front of him.

"You gonna be hung-over tomorrow."

"No. No," Reno said and shook his head violently and seemed to be regretting the action as he brought his hand to his forehead, running his fingers through his red bangs. Cloud just noticed that he wasn't wearing his normal flight goggles. How could he not notice that before? "Not tonight. I need to wink more. Not that night."

Cloud furrowed his brow. "What?" He didn't understand what the drunken Reno was trying to say.

"Other night," Reno said. "I should've taken care of ya." Reno frowned and looked into his glass.

"Huh?" Cloud was still not following what he was saying. He felt a hand on his leg, a hand that gave him a quick pat and squeeze.

His eyes grew wide as he realized that it was Reno's hand on his leg.

"I coulda been the one makin' Zack all jealous instead of the other way around." Reno pushed his glass back and the hand was removed from his leg. Reno then let his head fall to the table in a heavy thump. "I'm such a failure, yo."

Cloud instinctively reached over and rubbed Reno's back but was unable to say anything. He was trying to figure out what to make of Reno's confession.

~ _he likes me?~_

It had to be just the booze talking. Reno was just a flirt. He really didn't mean those things. He was just having a really rough time and feeling neglected. That was all. He kept rubbing the redhead's back in long, easy strokes, having to push his red hair out of the way.

"Reno?"

Reno kept his head on the table but looked up at him. It hurt to see him look so lost. He had something to say, but he lost it.

~ _what could I say to comfort him?~_

"I think we both have had enough to drink and you need to get some sleep," Cloud said instead.

"I think yer right," Reno said and rose up in his chair. He blinked a few times and his eyes seemed watery.

"That guy really hurt you, huh?" Cloud said, still keeping his hand on his back and felt him shudder.

"Might as well ripped my fuckin' heart out, yo," Reno whispered as he tried to reach into one of his jean pockets. "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked. That was when he saw it. Whatever he was searching for seemed to be the last straw for Reno. A tear fell from his blue eyes as he looked away quickly, wiping it as if he was ashamed of it.

He reached out and prevented Reno from running away from him. He pulled him into a tight hug. He felt Reno shivering against him. After a moment, he heard Reno mutter, "I think I threw away my key card." Cloud pulled away so that they were face to face.

"How'd you do that?" Cloud asked as he searched his friend's face.

Reno sighed. "Bein' stupid." Reno reached up and touched his face. "Ya know, you're a good friend."

"I try to be. If you tell me the whole story," Cloud said as he was having a hard time piecing all the tidbits of information that Reno had given to him.

"I'm a crappy friend," Reno said.

Cloud was about to tell him that he was not, when Reno started to lean forward.

~ _wha?~_

Reno's lips touched his. It wasn't a deep kiss; Reno only pressed his drink-sweetened lips against his. Cloud could see his eyes were closed and Cloud found that he was frozen. The hand that had been on his cheek was now threaded in the hair in the back of his head. The kiss was brief as Reno stopped, and then pressed his forehead against his. Cloud was too stunned to pull away.

"Reno," he whispered.

"Do you think Zack will kill me for kissing you?" Reno sounded sober.

Cloud blinked a few times. He knew he should be more alarmed by the closeness of Reno. His mind was reeling from the small kiss. He knew that Reno was in distress and needed comfort, but this was not the type of comfort he had in mind.

Cloud was about to say something when a click startled him and he heard a yell from the end of the table. He turned to the sound to see Joseph standing there with his phone held up. "I knew it!" He threw his hands up in there air and let out a victory yell. "I win the pool and I have the evidence!"

Cloud blinked at the roar that ensued around them as everyone clamoured to look at the picture that was on Joseph's phone. Reno covered his face and let out a miserable-sounding moan.

Cloud got his composure back and chose to ignore the noise around them and focused on Reno. "Let's get your drunken ass home. We'll talk about that kiss later." Cloud stood a little shakily and dragged Reno out of his chair. Reno was muttering how sorry he was under his breath. Reno leaned heavily against him. Reno was like a rag doll and Cloud dragged him out of the bar and went to take him home.

* * *

Again… Friday is not over yet.


	47. Friday: Picture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

**Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

Zack is hunting down Cloud and Cloud is taking care of the drunk and depressed Reno.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **Friday 3: Picture**

* * *

Zack whistled quite contently as he walked into the barracks looking for Cloud. The mission that Sephiroth had asked him to do was an easy one. He completed it well ahead of schedule and was pleased to have impressed Lazard at the promptness. Even though Lazard had questions as to why he was doing the mission and not Sephiroth. He had shrugged his shoulders and said, "Doing him a favour."

Lazard had given him a strange look but didn't inquire any further as Zack gave the report on the mission.

His thoughts were on Sephiroth and Reno. He wondered how that was going. It was good that both of them found each other. Sephiroth was a ball of nerves since Genesis left, and Reno just needed to have a date.

~ _I am sure they are having a good time~_

It was an odd couple, he had to admit. He never thought for a moment that they would even look at each other. It was amusing and he wondered how they even noticed each other.

~ _anything that will allow Sephiroth to move on~_

He shook his head and smiled. He arrived at the barracks and saw that it was empty, well, nearly empty. The only person he saw was John, who looked like he was injured and resting on his bunk.

He remembered when he was in the regular force and how only the injured or the geeks remained behind, even if they had to work the next day. Friday was the day to party.

He had a text from Cloud saying that he was going out to the bar with his friends but he shouldn't be out for long. He grinned at that. Cloud had said he was going to just sit back and read when he first rearranged their plans. The message said something about the fact that Cyrus said that he owed him a couple drinks for breaking his ribs.

"Hey," Zack called as he approached John. "You stuck here all alone?"

John jumped slightly as he had been looking at his phone. "Yeah, blew out my knee on patrol."

Zack looked at the younger man's leg and frowned. It still looked quite swollen. "Ouch. Instructor Clark," he said in sympathy.

John nodded. Zack knew the pain of dealing with Instructor Clark as well. The old timer really seemed to enjoy calling the men princesses and making them suffer. He swore the guy was a sadist at heart. "Yeah," John said and nervously looked at his phone. "So, you –- uh –- looking for Cloud?"

"Yeah. I thought he would be back by now," Zack said as he looked at the empty place. It was rather creepy that such a large area that was normally full of very loud people on a regular basis was now so quiet.

"I think he still at the bar," John said and looked at his phone again as it vibrated beside him. "He did what Joseph wanted."

Zack frowned. Anything that Joseph wanted could not be good. "What did Joseph want him to do?"

"Bait," John said with a frown. "I guess Joseph wanted Cloud to get Dean jealous. They got his attention after one dance and Dean became Mr. Caveman, just like Joseph wanted."

Zack rolled his eyes. Joseph certainly was a character. "Which bar did they go to?" Cloud didn't mention which one it was. Zack was of the mind to drop in and join them. It had been awhile since he had gone to a club and it was always fun to see how the younger ones partied. It helped morale a bit to see that he could still have fun as a First Class SOLDIER with all the turmoil that was occurring inside of Shin-Ra.

"The Plant," John said and his phone vibrated again. He looked at it but didn't open it. He seemed nervous as he examined the message.

Zack smiled as he looked at it. "Did Joseph get into any other trouble?" Knowing Joseph, he was pretty sure that he did. Joseph may have been fine when he was being an infantry but he had everyone's attention outside it. The crazy blue hair and obviously flaming personality were well known among the higher ranking SOLDIER and instructors.

He even remembered Tseng muttering something to him once on a mission about Joseph being the SOLDIER equivalent of Reno and they deserved to suffer as well.

John rolled his eyes. "Joseph is always getting into trouble." John's eyes were drawn back to his phone as it vibrated again with an unanswered phone call.

"True," Zack said and chuckled.

~ _at least he is harmless most of the time~_

"Maybe I'll head to the Plant and meet up with him there." Zack pulled out his phone and began to text Cloud a message, knowing that Cloud wouldn't be able to hear him if he was talking into the phone.

"He said he wasn't going to be long," John said. Zack couldn't help but see how nervous he looked. He was of the mind to ask him what was bothering him. "And isn't it hard to get into the Plant after ten?"

Zack chuckled again as he continued typing in a message. "Not for a First Class SOLDIER. It's one of the side benefits of the job." He finished sending Cloud the message, telling him that he was back early and asking if he was still at The Plant.

John's phone rang again and this time he picked it up and he grew pale at whatever he saw there, then quickly closed his phone.

"Are they sending you pictures on all the fun they're having? Rubbing it in?" Zack asked. He remembered that happening to him once. He had injured his shoulder though and was stuck behind while everyone else went partying. He frowned a bit as he remembered that evening. It wasn't one that he liked to think about.

~ _that's in the past~_

"Yeah, something like that," John said.

Zack chuckled. He was well aware that John was straight and that a lot of SOLDIER or wannabe SOLDIERs were gay or at least bisexual. And Joseph was such a flamer that he was probably taking very inappropriate pictures. He had gone through Cloud's phone and had seen some of the pictures that Joseph had sent in the past. Cloud had blushed and cursed Joseph at sending him the smut.

~ _at least he's harmless~_

That is what he had to keep telling himself about the blue-haired man. Zack's phone beeped back. He grinned and opened it, expecting a message from Cloud. Instead, it was a message from a number that he didn't recognize. It simply stated, 'lost the pool. Who'd-a-thunk?'

He clicked the picture open and it took him a moment to comprehend what he was seeing. It was a picture of Cloud walking with his arms around Reno who was looking quite plastered. Cloud's face was looking flushed in the picture, and it looked like he had too much to drink as well.

~ _it's just Cloud helping out a drunk Reno~_

"What is Reno doing out with Cloud? I thought …" Zack stopped talking. He wondered what happened with Reno and Sephiroth's night. And what the hell was Reno doing with Cloud?

"It's probably not what it looks like," John said

Zack looked over at John who was examining his phone. "I mean, it's probably just something that Joseph set up or something." The nervous young man looked up from his phone. "They both look drunk."

Zack sat on Cloud's bunk and looked at the picture. He wondered what went wrong with Reno's night with Sephiroth; they were an odd couple. It was still pretty early in the evening for even a bad date to have gone wrong. He would have to ask Sephiroth if it really was Reno he was spending time with.

~ _did I jump to conclusions?~_

"They certainly do," Zack said, trying not to let the picture get to him. Cloud had explained something about the Sugar-Daddy bet list. He thought it was quite amusing but now he was a little concerned. That last text was from a number he didn't recognize.

 _~How many people knew about this Sugar-Daddy list?~_

"Well," John said, looking up from his phone nervously. "Which picture did you get?"

"It looks like they are walking out of the bar," Zack said as he examined it and reread the note. "I wonder why Reno was there."

"Oh," John said with a noticeable slump to his shoulders. "Reno probably got dragged out with the rest of the guys."

Zack sighed as he looked at the picture and felt a little uneasy about it. He just got back together with Cloud and he thought their relationship was stronger than ever, but he did cancel their Friday night date.

~ _postponed~_

Cloud hadn't sounded upset on the phone when he said that he had to do a really short mission.

~ _maybe he was just putting on a show?~_

That was a horrific thought of having Cloud mad at him again. He looked back at the picture of his drunken boyfriend and the drunken Turk. It did look like Cloud was supporting him to make sure that he didn't fall. It didn't look anything romantic or anything of that sort.

Then he clued into what John had said. "What do you mean, which picture did I get?"

John tensed as his phone rang again. "Well, I …" John stammered and Zack tensed as the man grew pale. Zack stood up from the cot and liberated the phone from the shaking John's hands and began to scroll through his most recent messages.

* * *

"Can't you call Rude?" Cloud asked as they stood in front of the building. Reno was having a smoke as he was going through his pockets again and there wasn't a key card in sight.

"He's with Sissy," Reno said as he leaned heavily against the wall as if it was the only thing that was holding him up. Cloud didn't feel much better but just swayed beside him as he ran through the numbers on his phone. It kept ringing, but he was ignoring those messages. Everyone was sending him the picture or asking him if it was true. It was just easier to ignore all the calls.

~ _I'll deal with it in the morning~_

At least he didn't feel like he was going to fall to the ground quite yet.

"Dun wanna disturb him, yo." Reno ran his hands through his hair. Reno hadn't looked at him since they left the bar. Every second sentence out of his mouth was "I'm sorry" and Cloud was starting to ignore it.

"Where did you think you lost it?"

Reno took another deep drag on his smoke. "I returned his," Reno said with glazed eyes. He leaned a bit heavier against the wall and started to slide down. Cloud let him as he looked at him. "Sorry," Reno muttered again.

Cloud didn't know who the guy was who had called Reno the wrong name but it obviously upset him immensely. He had no idea who would have slept with the MIA General to even hazard a guess. Reno seemed to be unable to say the names of his Sugar-Daddies. It was so bad that Reno had tried to rip off the earring that he wore. Cloud had to pocket it so that he wouldn't hurt himself tearing off the gold loop.

"Is there anyone else that can get us into your apartment?" Cloud asked as he looked down at Reno.

Reno looked so sad and pathetic. A cigarette dangled out of his mouth and his eyes were fixed on his lap. His bright hair even seemed to be drooping as he fiddled with the hem of his snug colourful shirt.

~ _he looks heartbroken~_

Reno's head swayed slightly back and forth. "You can drop me off at Tseng's. He'll throw me in a shower and put me back on boot camp," Reno whispered anxiously. He didn't sound too drunk anymore but when his blue eyes looked up at him, they were glazed and way too wide for someone to be sober.

Cloud swayed on his feet and rolled his eyes. "Come on," Cloud said and held his hand down for Reno to take it. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"I'm not leaving you alone," Cloud said. He hauled the deceptively heavy Turk. Reno crashed into him but quickly pulled back, banging himself into the wall getting away from him. Reno groaned and muttered another sorry.

"Get over it already," Cloud said and grabbed Reno with a chuckle. "We'll be laughing about this tomorrow, once you get over your hangover." Cloud started to lead them into the building.

* * *

Reno highly doubted that he would be laughing about it in the morning. He was very conscious of Cloud's arm around him as they walked into the building. His vision was as blurry as his thoughts.

Cloud should have left him in the bar where he could drink himself into oblivion. His brain was a mess of Sephiroth, Rufus, Cloud and Zack.

Sephiroth was at the forefront for calling him the wrong name and ruining his thoughts of ever having something meaningful in his life. Rufus … he was pretty sure that the brat was just using him as well to fill the Genesis gap in his life. He wanted nothing to do with either of them anymore, if he was only a replacement bed-plaything for them.

Then there was the thought of the warm man that was guiding him towards an elevator. Cloud. He had kissed him.

Zack was going to kill him. He was pretty sure of it. Zack always had that look of jealousy on his face when he was near Cloud. He thought that once he got back to his place that he would have to equip himself with a Phoenix Down or a Life materia before he encountered him.

~ _maybe, after I recover from my injuries, I can retire with Ledge in Costa~_

He muttered out another apology and Cloud told him to shut up. "I'll make you some coffee and you can sleep it off." Reno swayed with Cloud, having to grab him tighter and he tugged on Cloud's shirt.

He closed his eyes as he felt Cloud pressing against him. He couldn't help but rest his hand on the top of those brown suede pants. He looked so good in them and was glad that he had bought them for Cloud.

 _~Zack has enough reasons to kill me~_

"Why did he use me like that?" Reno found himself muttering, his mind going back to thoughts of Sephiroth. The Silver God that brought in a dinner and had looked so damn great and felt …

Reno groaned and felt his legs go weak. He swayed and he took Cloud with him. That was when he realized that he was in the elevator.

"You okay?" Cloud said with a worried look on his face. Cloud's hands went to cup his face and force him to look into the concerned blue eyes. "You're not going to be sick, are you?"

Reno did feel an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach but he didn't think he was going to puke.

~ _it's just anxiety~_

He shook his head and regretted it. He ended up groaning and leaning forward, resting his head on Cloud's shoulder. Cloud's arms wrapped around him, hugging and comforting him. Reno uttered that he was sorry again.

"You've got nothin' to be sorry about," Cloud whispered into his hair. "I'll get you tucked into bed and you can forget about your night."

~ _I want to forget about everything~_

He could only groan as Cloud reassured him. A Turk was supposed to be stronger than this. Why was he crumbling so badly? Why was he even caring if anyone wanted him?

~ _look how happy it makes Rude~_

He didn't want to think that he was doing all of this because he was jealous of how happy Rude was with Cissnei. It was ridiculous. Just because Rude was talking a little more than usual and that Rude did things in the evenings without him didn't mean that he should be all emotional about the whole thing. It wasn't like he lost his friend, but he was just wishing that he had what Rude had.

Cloud pushed him away and leaned him against the wall. He couldn't help but groan. The simple hug was nice and he didn't want it to end. It was nice to be held, just to be held.

"I'm turnin' into a fuckin' wuss," Reno whispered as he tried to focus on Cloud's face but he looked blurry. He blinked his eyes and hated the fact that they were watery again. He wanted to kiss the blond again but he knew that it was wrong.

~ _might as well. Zack is goin' to kill ya anyway~_

But he didn't take action on his thoughts. He may have been a lowlife, but he wasn't that much of a lowlife. He was aware of the elevator door opening and looked down a familiar-looking hallway that he didn't want to ever see again.

His grip intensified on Cloud's arms so much that Cloud told him to loosen up. He wasn't able to comprehend much else of what he was saying because his eye was drawn to the end of the hall.

~ _I wonder what he's thinking about after he called me Genesis~_

"Yo, what are we doin' 'ere?" he said, quite alarmed to be on the SOLDIER floor again. He never wanted to be near or on this floor again.

"What? Did you think I was going to take you to the barracks?" Cloud said and tugged on his arms. Reno found himself stumbling out of the elevator and following Cloud. He watched for a moment as he tried to comprehend what was going on as Cloud pulled out a key card. It took him a moment more to realize that the door was to Zack's place.

"Yo, what the hell?" Reno was startled as Cloud was fumbling with his pockets. "I can't go in there with you."

"I'm not leaving you in the hallway." Cloud leaned against the wall, still going through his pockets. Cloud's phone rang shrilly again. He watched as Cloud fumbled with it to shut it off before dropping it to the ground. He looked at it like it was such a long way down.

"Hey, I'll get that," Reno said without much thought and reached for it. It caused him to fall to his knees. He looked up at Cloud who was smiling drunkenly at him.

Reno moved so that he was sitting crossed-legged on the floor and handed Cloud his phone. Cloud started to giggle as he tried to take it back from him, but their fingers fumbled against …

~ _his fingers feel so warm~_

… each other and the phone fell to the floor again.

Reno stared at the vibrating phone that lay on the floor in front of him and sighed. Cloud started to giggle again and put his hand over his mouth. Reno looked up at him and couldn't help but smile as well. Cloud was such a happy drunk. It was really quite pathetically cute.

Cloud's whole body was shaking as he finally pulled the key card out of his pocket. "Are you going to crawl now?" Cloud asked between giggles.

Reno rolled his eyes and tried to stand, only to end up sitting on the floor again. It only caused Cloud to start giggling again and he offered his hand. "You need a coffee."

"I thought ya said that yer weren't goin' to leave me in the hall, yo," Reno muttered.

Cloud stopped giggling but was still smiling brightly. "Come on, already," he said and Reno realized the apartment door was open.

~ _Zack's apartment~_

He didn't have time to process the fact that Cloud pulled him through the door and closed it behind him and soon he was somehow sitting on the couch in the living room. He just sat there trying to figure out what to do until he heard the horrible-sounding coffee pot gurgling away in the kitchen. Cloud emerged, still smiling before the smile turned into a soft look of concern that could melt the ice off a glacier.

"Are you okay? Really?" Cloud's hand landed on his shoulder and rubbed it gently.

Reno nodded but wasn't really sure of his answer. His mind was a mess with Cloud …

~ _Zack's boyfriend~_

… treating him like this inside of Zack's apartment with very inappropriate thoughts running through his head. Those thoughts mixed with the angry thoughts of being used and the fact that he didn't want to treat Cloud as just a …

"Reno?"

He looked up at Cloud and saw that he wasn't standing above him but sitting on the couch across from him with a coffee in his hand. "Did I pass out?" Reno asked.

"You were resting your eyes," Cloud said, and gave him a soft, understanding smile. "You need to lie down. Take these." Cloud handed him two pills and a large bottle of water that he had on the table.

Reno took the pills from his hand and shakily brought them to his lips. His whole body was shivering and he felt cold. He tried to grab the water but his grip wasn't good. Cloud chuckled as he saw this and held the bottle to his lips so he could drink.

"You're going to be hurting something fierce tomorrow." Cloud chuckled as he nearly slipped off the couch himself.

Reno laughed. "Yer drunk too!"

"I'm perf … perfesecly fine!" Cloud said as he righted himself. "You're worse than me! I didn't fall asleep on this couch."

Reno couldn't argue that point. He felt his eyes drooping again and allowed himself to lie back on the couch. He figured he was going to be sleeping on the uncomfortable thing when he felt something tugging on his hand. He didn't even care that he didn't have a pillow or a blanket.

Reno just wanted to sleep and forget about this night and hope that his misery would be over by morning.

The tugging was persistent. He opened his eyes all the way to see Cloud pulling at his arm. "You can't sleep here."

Reno followed the tug. "Yo, are ya gonna put me on the floor after all?" He was a little confused and felt dizzy as he was moved. He wanted to lie back down, but as he found himself yet again being hugged by the warmth of Cloud, he didn't complain and just allowed it to happen.

It was small consolation in all the chaos that his life had ensued to have Cloud not reject him for kissing him, and for having the man still taking care of him. So, he was going to be dead in the morning once Zack found out, but at least he found out that Cloud was truly a good friend.

~ _I should say so~_

"You should hate me," Reno muttered as he allowed himself to be led.

"Why?" Cloud asked as he weaved towards a door.

~ _I didn't know Zack had a guest room~_

"Yo, I kissed ya. I most likely fucked up yer relationship with Zack 'cause I kissed ya," Reno said. The room started to spin and he felt himself starting to fall but was caught by Cloud.

"It's okay," Cloud said, pulling him from the wall. "You're drunk, upset and alone. It'll be better in the morning."

Reno wished he could believe Cloud as he saw a bed swaying in front of him. He felt himself being led to it and sat down on it. The room seemed to stabilize a bit but he still couldn't see much clearly.

He felt the stupid burning in his eyes again and his breath hitched painfully in his chest.

~ _I'm second fiddle to everyone and everything. Always have been~_

"I need another drink," he whispered as he stared at his knees. They were the only thing in the room he could really focus on.

He was never important to anyone as a kid. He was only good if he made the drug runs on time or when he was older, met the drug runners and the johns. Now he was playing second fiddle to every guy he had ever tried to have a 'relationship' with and …

~ _Cloud~_

Cloud was being so damn nice to him. He just _knew_ he was screwing things up. He didn't want that. Cloud and Zack didn't need him messing up their relationship. They just resolved some major issues that he could have easily stepped in and ruined that by comforting Cloud then and there, and now it was Cloud comforting him.

~ _Zack is gonna kill me~_

He stood up but felt himself being pushed back down and warm arms wrapped around him. He felt those comforting arms surrounding him and he gradually let himself fall into the embrace.

"Ya should've left me in the hallway, yo" Reno muttered, not having the strength to remove himself from the warmest hug he had ever felt.

Cloud muttered something that was followed by the word 'dumbass.'

"Yo, I ain't a dumbass," Reno muttered, but there was no venom in his voice. He was actually becoming quite comfortable.

"Complete dumbass," Cloud said and chuckled.

~ _way too happy of a drunk~_

"We'll talk in the mornin'," Cloud said. "Sleep off your self-loathing and we can have some of your hangover remedy then."

Reno chuckled lightly at that. "Zack wouldn't approve," he said.

~ _Zack wouldn't approve of anything that you're doing right now~_

"It'll be fine," Cloud said. "Now lie down and go to sleep." Reno felt himself being moved to lie down. He groaned as the room began to swim around him as he moved. He hated this part of getting drunk. He wished he was blacked out. It is easier dealing with things when he didn't remember.

He felt a soft pillow caress his head and fingers run through his hair. "It'll look better in the morning."

He wanted to say that he doubted that but all that came out of his mouth was a little bit of grumbling and mumbles. He doubted that it made any sense whatsoever, but it got a small chuckle from the blond that was taking care of him.

He shivered until he felt a warm blanket cover him and hands smooth it down on his side. He couldn't help but groan at how comforting the hand felt running down his side like that. It made him whimper at the thought of someone caring for him enough to do it and it wasn't anyone that he was allowed to have. He wanted to start crying again but the tears would do noone any good.

He heard more comforting words and that hand continued to stroke his side. He kept his eyes closed, and soon, he fell asleep to the soothing touch of the comforting hand.

* * *

Cloud sighed as he finally got the drunken Reno to sleep. He wished he could do more to help him. He still couldn't understand why Reno was having so many problems with relationships.

Reno was funny, nice, and handsome to boot. Cloud sighed and continued to rub his side and waited for the man to stop shivering. He was so messed-up, but at the same time he couldn't forget how he helped him when it came to realizing that Zack wasn't being malicious when he left him that night.

"It'll work out, Reno. You'll find someone," Cloud mumbled and stayed lying beside the man huddled in the blankets. Reno's back was to him so he couldn't see his face but he could hear the soft sobs that left the man.

He kept his hands on Reno's side.

He knew he should get up and call Zack. He had to tell him what was going on and how upset Reno was. Zack would be able to help him figure out who hurt Reno to the point where he was smoking again and wanted to drink himself to forget his misery.

Then he couldn't remember where he left his phone. Did they get it off the floor in the hallway? He couldn't remember and it was such an effort to get up.

He could smell Zack on the sheets and it was quite warm and comfortable with another body causing the bed to dip slightly.

Cloud reasoned with himself. He would just close his eyes for a minute or two and then he would get up and call Zack before he got back. He didn't want to have Zack come home to this surprise.

* * *

Again … Friday is not over yet. Can I drag a night out or what?  
Oh, and I changed my poll. Check it out.


	48. Friday: NightmareDream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning  
> ** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Friday is a really really long day, don't you think… Yaoi.

**Warning  
** A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Friday is a really really long day, don't you think… Yaoi.

 **Pre-Author's Note  
** Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

Sephiroth contemplates his relationship with Genesis.  
Reno is having a most wonderful dream … sort of.

 **Disclaimer  
** Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

* * *

 **Friday 4: NIGHTMARE/DREAM**

* * *

Sephiroth looked at the remains of the dinner that he had served. Everything around his apartment reminded him of his failure; his failure to woo a simple eager Turk into his bed and his failure at relationships in general.

~ _Genesis~_

He had put his pants back on and he walked through his apartment in a constant circle. He looked at the leftover dinner, his soiled shirt on the living room floor, the half-finished bottle of Banora apple vodka ...

~ _Genesis' bottle~_

He should have never let the Turk drink from it. It had been a bottle that Genesis had left and drank from. It had made the Turk taste just like the last kiss he had shared with Genesis before they had an argument.

~ _Genesis always tasted like those apples~_

He lifted the bottle off the end table and frowned heavily at it. That last kiss was good and so full of promise. The Turk was so responsive and warm. He seemed more than willing and eager to be with him.

~ _then you go and fuck it all up~_

He brought the bottle to his lips and took a large gulp of the poison. He had never liked the taste of alcohol or how it affected him. He didn't understand why anyone would drink the stuff, but he liked how it tasted when it was on someone else's tongue.

~ _all it does is further remind me of my failures~_

He then gripped the bottle tightly and closed his eyes. His chest hurt with the rolling thoughts and his stomach tied itself into knots. He looked at the half-empty bottle and threw it against the wall. He watched it smash and the smell of the apple-flavoured vodka filled his bedroom.

He looked at the mess for a little while before he could no longer handle the sweet and painful smell.

He turned on his heel and went back to the living room. He turned on his television, not caring what was playing. He lay down and closed his eyes, trying to let the sounds of the television fill his mind.

But all he could think about was Genesis leaving, Reno's crushed look as he left, and the fact that his life had become a painful nightmare as he was alone again.

Genesis had left nothing fond behind for him to remember him by, just harsh words and the loud slam of a door. Not even a soft kiss as he left him alone there, taking even Angeal, a man that he thought he could call a friend, in his whole endeavour against him.

* * *

Reno felt something warm against his hand. He blinked his eyes open and tried to think for a moment what it was. The room was dimly lit and he couldn't make out much, but he definitely was feeling something warm underneath this hand; warm and firm. It felt like an arm. He blinked a little bit more and realized that there was a warm, young body beside him that had spiky yellow hair.

His first thoughts were panic. There was no way he should be in bed with Cloud. That would be stupid and suicidal and there was no way that Cloud would do anything to betray Zack.

~ _and I'm not that much of a slime~_

He let his hand roam along the arm and admired the muscle tone. It felt so real. He remembered how vivid the dream that he had about Tseng was and this had to be another dream like that.

Because there was no way that Cloud would ever be in the same bed as him.

He blinked a bit and moved closer to the form. He pressed against the warm body and wrapped his arms around the slender and muscular waist. He could smell that was Cloud and then groaned. He loved the smell of the man. It was mixed with sweat and cigarettes though. He buried his face into the shoulder. He felt an arm wrap around him and Cloud's soft voice whisper, "Go back to sleep."

~ _well, that's hardly erotic~_

He took it though as he snuggled against the dream Cloud. At least he could do that.

~ _maybe I can't even sleep with him in a dream~_

He sighed. He was pathetic even in his dreams. But it sure felt nice to have a warm body next to him. It had been a year since he had that. He enjoyed this part and maybe that was why he was dreaming this.

He opened his eyes and looked at the sleeping blond. He looked so real and so happy. Cloud was amusing when he was drunk. How could he even be smiling when he had kissed him like that?

~ _I'm a jerk~_

He didn't deserve to even cuddle with him in a dream. He tried to pull away from the warm body but the arm kept him in place. "Quit wiggling," Cloud whispered. "You're making the bed move too much."

Reno groaned and stopped moving. He relaxed again, just enjoying the feel of the lean man near him.

It was a good dream when he wasn't getting pushed away, and for once, he had something warm and comforting beside him.

"Don't cry," Cloud whispered. He felt a hand rub his back and then he realized he was crying.

~ _lame dream to be cryin' in it~_

He sniffed and wiped his face on the dream Cloud's shirt.

"It'll be okay," Cloud mumbled. Reno looked at him and saw that his blue eyes were open. He looked away from his foggy gaze but increased his grip around Cloud. He could have a night of comfort.

~ _Zack is going to kill you~_

There was always that, but at least he would feel good for a little bit. After being shunned and teased, he didn't mind the little bit of cuddling. He just wished he could have it happen more often.

~ _and not in a dream~_

"I'm so pathetic," Reno said.

"Shut up," Cloud muttered. "Go back to sleep."

Reno whispered, "Ya shoulda left me in the hall."

"Shut up," Cloud repeated and slapped his back with no force at all. "I couldn't do that."

Reno grunted his response, but now he couldn't go back to sleep. He was trying to figure out how he got here. It was so much like the feeling of the dream he had about Tseng. He did remember fumbling with a phone in a hallway and something about an elevator, but they were shadows in his mind.

~ _just another dream~_

"Thank you, Cloud," he whispered.

"For what?"

"Takin' care of me, yo," Reno said. "Even if you're doin' this in my dream."

"Dream?" Cloud mumbled.

"Uh-huh. Dream. I've had some very vivid dreams. I like this one, yo," Reno said and nuzzled into his shoulder. Cloud was so nice to cuddle into.

"This is a dream?" Cloud's voice sounded strangely amused.

"It has to be," Reno muttered and wiggled a leg over top of Cloud's. He was going to enjoy this dream. At least he could get cuddles out of him in his dream before Zack tore him out of it and killed him. "Good things dun happen to me."

The hand on his back stroked him some more. "Okay," Cloud said in a dreamy voice. "Well, you're having a good dream then."

"Great dream, yo," Reno muttered.

Cloud chuckled. "Good, I wouldn't want to be in a nightmare."

Reno felt himself smile at that. "Livin' a nightmare, so I guess I'm allowed good dreams." He felt heavy, warm and surprisingly at ease at the moment. Cloud's hand rubbed his back and was seemingly oblivious that he was cuddling with someone other than Zack.

~ _It's a wonderful dream~_

This was one dream that he didn't want to wake up from.

* * *

He was not as angry as his initial burst at seeing the picture of Cloud and Reno kissing on Joseph's phone.

He was more hurt now.

Zack went to the Plant in search of Cloud and Reno, but was told by everyone there that he was already gone and took Reno home. The place was loud and the latenight atmosphere was taking over. Large flashing lights and smoke machines flavoured the place, combined with everyone being overly drunk. After some searching he was able to find Joseph in a corner and attempted to have a small conversation with a very drunk and incoherent boy who was happily spending his Sugar-Daddy bet list money. Zack also had to deal with the fact that Dean would not let Joseph out of his arm's reach. Neither of them were much help, nor was anyone else in the bar.

~ _not that I expected much from the blue-haired freak~_

He was able to get some information out of Cyrus, saying that Reno and Cloud had left a couple hours ago, but he didn't know where they were going. Cyrus had yelled in his ear, "I think they went back to Reno's place," before he was dragged away into the throngs of drunken happy dancers.

Zack had been mad when he left the bar. He started to walk to the housing. He had been near-frantic trying to phone Cloud and then Reno. His fingers never stopped for a moment on his phone in trying to contact either of the two, panic rising in his chest as he marched forward. He even tried phoning Rude.

He had been a little startled when Cissnei answered Rude's phone, but apparently they had not seen Reno and had confirmed with him that Reno indeed had a date tonight. Cissnei whispered a little too joyfully into the phone. "I think it was with Sephiroth. He's been stalking around Reno quite a bit."

"Well, I know that he's not with him right now. He hasn't called you two or anything?" he inquired as he started to walk to Reno's room.

"What's wrong, Zack?" her tone changing considerably at the question.

He wasn't going to tell her that he had seen a picture of his boyfriend kissing Reno and wanted to know what the hell was going on. "I just need to talk to him."

Cissnei said that they would keep an eye out for him as Zack hung up. He knocked on Reno's door and even contemplated on knocking it down to see if he was in there.

But he no longer had the energy or will to.

~ _what if he is mad at me for cancelling our date and found Reno for comfort?~_

He knocked again and didn't get an answer.

~ _but what happened between Reno and Sephiroth?~_

He sniffed and blinked as he knocked a third time. His chest was almost hurting with the wild whirl of emotions that were going through his head. He was torn between anger, loss and real physical pain.

~ _where the fuck would they go?~_

He was having horrible images of them in a seedy slum hotel room … kissing.

~ _Cloud wouldn't do that to me~_

He gave up on the door, feeling a little crushed. The hurt was all that he was feeling now. The hurt was all that he _could_ feel. He leaned his head against the rough wood of the door for a moment and tried to regain his breath. He didn't want to look like a mess walking back to his room.

 _~after the wonderful week that we had together, how can he turn his back on me?~_

He pulled away from the door and opened John's phone and examined the picture of Reno kissing his man. He took consolation that Cloud looked shocked and maybe it was something that Joseph had just set up.

Cloud kissing anyone else … hurt. It hurt more because it was Reno and Reno was supposed to be a friend. He knew that things had been a little tense between them with his jealousy …

~ _maybe I was right to be jealous~_

Zack ran his fingers through his hair and tugged on it as he now leaned back on Reno's door, staring at the tiled ceiling. He took an odd note that it needed a good cleaning.

"What's going on?" he whispered. He shook his head and pushed himself away from the door. He contemplated leaving a note but he didn't have anything on him to do so. He started to shuffle to the elevator and resigned himself to going home. He tried calling Cloud again, but there was no answer.

~ _is he avoiding me now?~_

Cloud always avoided things when he was upset and he didn't think Cloud was upset about moving the date. Zack hoped not. There had been no curt words and he had not sounded in the least bit upset. He even sounded happy the last time on the phone.

The elevator opened and he stepped inside, punching the buttons to get to his floor, even as his fingers moved over his phone again. The elevator moved too slow for his liking as he leaned against the padded wall as he anchored his feet on the faux tile floor.

He had to get ahold of Cloud and figure out if he did something wrong again. If he had done something wrong, he wanted to know what to do to fix it. He knew he had jumped the gun and had agreed to help Sephiroth. Cloud seemed fine with it. Zack thoughts struggled to pull up the conversation that they had to find any signs in it that Cloud had been upset.

The elevator stopped, jarring him from his thoughts. He kept his eyes on the floor and he pocketed his painfully quiet phone. He dragged his feet as he shuffled to his apartment. That was when he noticed a phone on the floor.

Cloud's phone.

He blinked at it for a second as it vibrated on the floor.

He bent down and picked it up. He didn't understand why Cloud's phone was lying on the floor in front of his apartment. It vibrated in his hand again as he opened it. There were a lot of messages unanswered, and most of them were from him.

He smiled a bit though. It had to be all a misunderstanding on his part. Cloud just got a little too drunk, was all that it was, and had gone back to his place to sleep it off. He dropped his phone and that was the only reason why he wasn't answering. A sense of relief washed over him before the ice came back again.

~ _what about Reno?~_

Reno was probably too drunk to move in his apartment, which was why he wasn't answering the phone or the door. That was all. Cloud was nice enough to drop him off at his place and then stumbled his way back up here. He obviously indulged in more than he should have.

Zack's eyes looked down the hall to where Sephiroth's door was. He wondered if Sephiroth was there. He was almost tempted to go pound on that door and find out why this situation even happened, but that was not his business.

Cloud was most likely cuddled under the blankets of his bed waiting for him to come home or, at worst, hugging the porcelain throne puking his guts out.

He opened his door, feeling quite a bit better about the whole situation. Cloud just drank too much, was all. The picture was something that Joseph set up. He would have to take care of a drunken infantryman with a hell of a hangover in the morning, that would most likely be totally embarrassed about the whole situation.

He would threatened Reno and scare him, but Zack was sure that Joseph had something to do with it. Then he would talk to Reno about what happened with Sephiroth which led to the kissing of his boyfriend. He may even talk to Sephiroth first and hear what he had to say for himself, since it was his fault that all this happened. If he would still be occupying Reno's time, he would not have kissed Cloud.

That was his plan. It was a circular plan that didn't seem to sit too well with him yet, but it would once he saw Cloud.

He rested his sword against the wall and then knelt down to undo his boots.

He stopped and stared at the two pairs of shoes. One pair he recognized as Cloud's; a pair that he wore when he was planning on dancing. The other pair was white and they most definitely did not belong to Cloud.

Reno usually wore black shoes, but whom else could it be? Zack stared at them for awhile and tried to think of what Reno's shoe size was.

He smelled freshly made coffee in the air and he saw that the coffee pot was still on. The smell of the coffee was not enough to mask the smell of cigarettes and alcohol that lingered in the air. He looked around the kitchen and saw spilled sugar on the counter. He ran his finger through it and looked down the hall.

The bathroom light was on and he saw that his bedroom door was open. He turned on his hall light as he examined his apartment further. There was a half cup of coffee on the table, as well as a bottle of headache medicine and a large bottle of water sitting in the living room that was hardly touched.

But his eyes turned back to the ajar door of his bedroom.

~ _Cloud wouldn't …~_

He couldn't even allow himself to finish the thought. He felt ill. He didn't want to walk to the bedroom. He didn't want to see what was in there.

~ _Cloud wouldn't …~_

Zack found his feet moving in a slow, zombie-like gait towards the horrors that he was hoping did not exist in his bedroom. He couldn't hear anything. His ears were buzzing as he was trying to strain to hear … something.

Cloud wouldn't do _that_ with Reno. Reno wouldn't do _that_ with Cloud. They wouldn't do _that_ with each other in his bedroom. They wouldn't … would they?

He blinked his eyes furiously as he looked in the door. His vision became slightly blurry as he thought of what could be happening in his bedroom. It felt like his heart was trying to race out of his chest as he tentatively stepped forward to look into his dimly lit bedroom.

They were lying together.

He stood frozen in the door and stared at the two men that were lying on his bed. Cloud was on his back with his head turned to the side with a silly drunken smile on his face. His hair was more messed up than before and there was a drunken flush on his cheeks. Reno was nestled against him with his face buried in Cloud's shoulder. His red hair was a mess.

~ _at least they have their clothes on~_

That he was thankful for. Cloud was wearing his brown pants and black shirt. Reno was wearing some baggy jeans and a snug shirt. It did not appear that they had tried to remove their clothes and he was even more thankful to see that.

He stared at the two men that were lying on his bed and tried to form a plan in how to deal with this situation. He was aware that Reno had his arm around Cloud's waist and one of his legs was draped over Cloud as well. Cloud had one arm pressed against Reno's back as if he had been rubbing it.

He was torn. He wanted to run over, grab Reno and throw him out the window. The other part of him wanted to yell and scream and ask what he did wrong to cause Cloud to run into another man's arms. Yet another part wanted to run and get his sword and skewer Reno where he lay.

It looked so intimate and comfortable. Cloud looked drunkenly happy and Reno looked like he was miserable, so they couldn't have been having a 'good' time. It looked like at one point Reno had the blanket wrapped around him as one of his legs was entangled in it. The rest of the blanket had fallen to the side as they obviously got closer together.

"Did it just get brighter in here?" Zack heard Cloud mumble, but he didn't open his eyes.

Reno moved his head and his blue eyes flitted open. "Yeah, it's brighter," Reno said and moved a little away from Cloud so that he wasn't pressed against him anymore.

"Why'd ya turn on the light?" Cloud mumbled again. He sounded so drunkenly sweet. Zack could feel his heart hurt at his words.

"I didn't, Dream Zack did," Reno said. Zack focused on Reno as Reno laid his head back down on Cloud's chest. Zack stayed put at the door and looked directly at Reno who was focused on him. He resisted the urge to run forward and tear him off his boyfriend, but something in Reno's tone stopped him.

"Dream Zack's here?"

"Yep," Reno said.

Cloud made a small chuckle-like noise and his eyes finally opened in a slit. "So this is still a dream?"

"Yeah, 'cause I'm still alive, yo," Reno said and chuckled.

Zack couldn't move. He just stared at how intimate the position was to see Reno resting on Cloud. Cloud patted his back in slow, lazy motions.

"Okay, then." Cloud's eyes closed again.

"Yeah. Nothin' good happens to me in real life so … so I can dream for a lil' while more, please." Reno said.

"Sure," Cloud mumbled. "Dream away."

Zack started to walk forward. His hands at his sides balled into fists, he was torn between hurt, anger and confusion now. They thought it was part of a dream. Cloud mumbled something that he didn't make out but Reno moved off Cloud's chest. Reno's blue eyes blinked down at Cloud as he pushed himself up and away from the man on the bed.

Cloud moved away a bit, so that his arm was under his head and the other rested on his stomach.

Reno's bleary eyes were focused on Zack again. "Real Zack woulda thrown me out the window on sight or skewered me with that large sword of his." Reno collapsed back onto the nearest pillow.

"Quit shaking the bed!" Cloud whimpered. "You're going to make me sick."

"Sorry," Reno said. "Do ya think that Real Zack will kill me?"

"Quit worrying about it. We'll talk about it in the morning. Go back to sleep," Cloud mumbled.

Zack blinked at them. They were having a conversation like he wasn't even in the room, peering down at them. He was confused at this. Nothing was making sense. This whole evening was making no sense.

"Yo, I'm asleep and I dun wanna wake up. Dream Zack is lookin' mighty fine hoverin' over the bed like he is, yo," Reno said and licked his lips.

"Zack always looks good, dream or not." Cloud threw out his arm; it looked as if it was his intent to hit Reno, but he only hit the bed. The movement cause him to groan. "Shut up already. I don't care if this is your dream, but I want to go to sleep."

Zack raised his eyebrow at this confusing conversation and had to fight a smile that was coming to his face. As disturbing as it was, it was amusing as well. He didn't like Reno lying beside Cloud but they seemed to be talking as if they were in a dream.

"But I dun wanna die," Reno whined. "Dream Zack's eyes are glowin'."

"He's a SOLDIER. They do that," Cloud mumbled and sounded sleepy still.

"I guess you're right, yo," Reno said. "Are ya gonna kill me, Dream Zack?"

Zack opened his mouth to say … something. He didn't know what quite yet, but Cloud started to giggle.

~ _he definitely had too much to drink~_

"Just kiss him and then you can stop worrying about it," Cloud said as he rolled on his side. "Then we can go back to sleep and we don't have to worry about anyone killing anyone."

Zack took a sharp intake of air. The proclamation from Cloud was shocking and it froze him in place.

"Yo, that's a good idea!" Reno said as he sat up, swaying slightly. "Whatcha think, Dream Zack?"

Zack just looked at the two on the bed. "I …" was all that he was able to stammer out as he watched as Reno struggled to his knees.

Drunken hands grabbed his suspenders. "He's movin' too much, Cloud," Reno mumbled. Zack was able to look at Reno up close and see that his eyes were glazed over. He obviously had too much to drink during the night.

Cloud just responded with a giggle from the bed with hooded eyes.

"Is it really okay that I kiss him?" Reno said, looking to Cloud.

"It'll even things out," Cloud mumbled.

Reno turned to him and Zack still felt like he couldn't move. Even things out with a kiss? That kiss wasn't set up by Joseph? Zack could feel the anger coming again but the swaying touch of Reno kept him from actually moving … and then …

~ _was Reno really going to kiss me?~_

Reno swallowed. "I jus' dun wanna end up goin' through a wall."

Cloud laughed. "If it's a dream, he won't kill ya. Just kiss him so I can go back to sleep."

"You guys realize that you don't make any sense," Zack finally said, but he didn't remove Reno's hands from his suspenders. Reno smelled of stale cigarettes and strong alcohol. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was not how Reno normally smelled. Reno obviously had changed what he normally would drink. He usually drank those horribly sweet things, but he must have switched for the night.

He didn't know how he was supposed to feel about this situation. Should he push them away and tell them that they weren't dreaming and demand an explanation? Should he just turn around and leave his own bedroom?

Zack wasn't mad anymore. Obviously what had happened wasn't something that was planned and that Reno had a lot of guilt over, even if he was voicing it in a strange way. This whole situation was just confusing him.

Reno thought he was currently in some sort of dream and Cloud was actually quite cute with his drunken talk about being in a dream as well.

There had been no hanky panky stuff going on and Zack knew something bad had to have happened with Sephiroth to make Reno behave the way that he did. At least he hoped there wasn't any hanky panky stuff. It didn't seem that way at all.

Zack was still confused and was even more confused by the kneeling man in front of him.

"Ah, what if I kiss 'im an' I wake up." Reno moaned and was suddenly resting his head against his chest. One hand still held his suspenders and the other hand was now pressing his side.

Zack froze. This was far too intimate and intimidating of a situation and it was even odder that Cloud was lying just a mere meter away.

Cloud groaned and rose up on his elbows. "Quit being a wuz and kiss him."

Zack gasped for air and tried to get some words out of his mouth, but he could barely catch his breath.

Reno mumbled against his chest. "Not a wuss."

"Complete wuss." Cloud struggled to his knees.

"Am not," Reno protested and pulled his head up. "I dun wanna wake up." Reno looked at him. "I like this Dream Zack." Zack felt Reno's hand grip the side of his stomach guard. "He hasn't tried to kill me."

Suddenly Cloud was beside Reno. Zack didn't see him move from his laying position but now he was kneeling beside him. Cloud smacked the side of Reno's face in a playful manner and then leaned forward and echoed Reno's position. Zack felt Cloud wrap one arm behind his and grab hold of his suspenders, just like Reno was. "Zack isn't going to kill you." Cloud's eyes were bright and his lips curved in a smirk. "See, I'll kiss him and then you kiss him."

~ _what the fuck is going on here?~_

This certainly was not a dream. The two men were very close to him and very warm against him.

"You just need to kiss him." Cloud leaned forward. Zack felt the lips press against him. There was nothing passionate about it but a simple pressing of the lips together, but it was full of the familiar comfort that they shared.

When Cloud pulled back, he heard Reno groan.

He suddenly found himself very uncomfortable and nervous with the situation. He moved his hands to push the men that were surrounding him. Their arms were tight around him and he was feeling a different type of warmth.

"I will say it again, that's fuckin' hot," Reno said, moaning.

Cloud smirked. "Is it?"

"Fuck, yeah," Reno said and leaned against him. Reno's head was now resting on his chest and he could feel his hair tickling his cheek. "You're a lucky guy."

"You keep saying that," Cloud said as he laid his head against Zack's chest, mimicking Reno's pose. Zack found himself taking shallow breaths and feeling a little claustrophobic.

"Well, ya are," Reno said.

"You know, I'm here too, guys," Zack said. It was weird being talked about when he was right there and both of them were leaning against him.

"You'll find someone eventually," Cloud said sombrely. The hand that was on Zack's chest reached up and clasped Reno on the shoulder and gave him a firm squeeze.

Reno pressed his head further into his chest. "This dream is startin' to suck," Reno whispered. "I wanna forget that it ever happened."

Zack felt lost in the conversation. He was very aware that both men were mimicking each other's movements. The hands on his lower back were moving in small circles. They were looking at each other with their heads tilted at the same angle and leaning against him so that their sides were pressed against him. He couldn't help put his arms out to support them both as they were swaying slightly and obviously still drunk.

"Make the dream better then," Cloud said, lifting his head off Zack's shoulder. "Give him a kiss so you can stop dwelling on it, already! I wanna go back to sleep."

"Guys," Zack said realizing that his voice was sounding a little weak.

"I'm still gonna be dead in the mornin'."

"Well, then kiss him so at least you'll have a good memory."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Zack asked as Cloud's head fell back to his chest and Reno lifted his.

"But it's only in a dream."

"Whatever," Cloud mumbled. Zack could feel him slump heavily against him. He gripped his arm tighter around the blond. Cloud was falling asleep.

Zack turned to look at Reno and was going to try and tell him that he needed to lay back down and go to sleep and they would talk about this craziness in the morning.

That was when Reno kissed him. It was just like Cloud had done; a gentle kiss on the lips. He could taste the liquor that he drank earlier in the evening. Reno's lips were a little firmer and narrow, whereas Cloud's lips were plump and soft.

"You know, that _is_ hot," Cloud mumbled.

Zack quickly pulled away from the kiss and tried to look at Cloud but his head was nestled against his chest and he couldn't see his face.

He tried to understand what Cloud had meant by saying that. Cloud just called him kissing another man, 'hot'. Cloud didn't sound or seem upset by any part of it. It was one thing to suggest it, but seeing it …

~ _he said it was hot~_

Zack was a little confused by the statement and curious if it was just a drunken statement or if it was something more.

Reno groaned and pressed his face against his chest. "I'm fuckin' ya guys up," Reno whispered into him. Zack didn't even realize that he was wrapping his arm around him and patting his back.

Cloud sighed. "So, you kissed him. Can we go back to sleep?" Cloud was so casual sounding, not at all bothered by the fact that Zack had just been kissed by Reno.

~ _but he doesn't sound too drunk anymore either~_

"I didn't wake up," Reno said.

Cloud murmured something against him. Zack knew that Cloud was nearly asleep with him holding him up. How was he supposed to handle both of them?

~ _both of them~_

Reno groaned and fell back, pushing his hands against his chest and flopping awkwardly back on the bed, turning to crawl back into the position he was before. He was mumbling the whole time about what a screw up he was.

Zack felt Cloud slump against him fully and his clumsy hand reach over and press against his chest. He was out cold. He moved Cloud over to the other side of the bed so he was as far away from the passed-out Reno as he could get him. He didn't have the heart to put him on the couch. He pulled the blanket over Cloud and then tried to figure out what the hell he was going to do with Reno.

~ _he kissed me~_

So the kiss that Reno and Cloud shared was just a touch on the lips. They weren't denying it, and somehow their drink-heavy minds were thinking that the kiss he just shared with Reno was going to make them even.

Zack thought about what had just happened and stared down at the two drunks. So, Reno thought he was dreaming. He thought this all was a big dream.

Zack tried to get angry again. It was easier to be angry than confused. but he could only stare down at the two men with a strange feeling of bewilderment.

His lips were tingling from the kisses - from Cloud's familiar soft kiss and Reno's new harder but gentle one.

He wondered if they were going to remember anything that happened this night.

Zack continued to look at them. They were both asleep again. He rubbed the back of his head and watched them for a bit before he walked out of his own bedroom and into his kitchen to have some of the overcooked coffee that was sitting in the pot.

He shut off the pot after pouring himself a cup and added a lot of sugar and cream. He went to his living room, sat in his only chair and stared at his bedroom door, wondering what he was going to do.

* * *

… Oh… What is this silly author doing!  
So, Friday night is over!

What will Saturday morning hold?


	49. Saturday

Warning  
A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Friday is a really really long day, don't you think… Yaoi.

Pre-Author's Note  
Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…

… Waking up on Saturday morning after a very long Friday night.

Disclaimer  
Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

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#  **SATURDAY**

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Cloud didn't want to move. His stomach was a little upset, but not as bad as he thought he was going to feel. He did drink way too much trying to get information out of Reno, but in the end, he felt like he didn't really get much out of him.

He felt the familiar warmth of Zack's bed. He rolled over and heard the familiar creak that was always on Zack's side of the bed. He blinked his eyes open and was expecting to see a dark head of hair beside him.

 _~why would Zack dye his hair?~_

He blinked his eyes a few times, thinking that the colour was wrong. Then he realized the whole shape was wrong. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Thoughts of his night started to flood into his head.

He sat up quickly with a start, but his legs got tangled in a blanket and he ended up tumbling to the floor with a loud yell. He scurried to sit up so he was looking at the other man that was on the bed.

The yell woke Reno.

"Where am I?" Reno said as he sat up sharply. Cloud watched him as his blue eyes scanned the room and then fell to where he was sitting on the floor. "Yo, what're you doin' on the floor?"

Cloud blinked and couldn't find the right words to come out of his mouth. His brain was a whirl of thoughts and was preventing any coherent words from coming out of it. Reno was sitting up rubbing his eyes and looking around the room with a confused look.

The confused look bled out of his face and his eyes grew wide. He started to look slightly panicked as he realized where he was. "Shit."

Cloud struggled to free himself from the blanket. He pulled himself up and stared at the redhead. He tried to talk, but his voice only came out as incoherent sounds.

Reno just blinked at him. "Wha?" he said and scratched his head.

"How did you get in here?" Cloud finally blurted, and his voice squeaked at the end. His stomach was churning, but he didn't think it was just from the hangover. Reno was sitting on the bed and the bed was Zack's.

 _~Zack's mission wasn't that long. What time is it?~_

Cloud looked at the red numbers on the clock and groaned. It was nine in the morning.

 _~Zack has to be back by now ~_

"I think you dragged me in here," Reno said as he rubbed his forehead. His voice was soft and he looked like he was trying to piece together what happened as well.

Cloud remembered. Why did he think it was a good idea to bring Reno into the bed?

 _~you felt sorry for him and you didn't want him to get a crick in his neck sleeping on the couch after such a horrible night~_

"Oh man," Cloud whispered as he struggled to get back on the bed. "I'm remembering now."

"Zack doesn't have a spare room, does he," Reno said, even though it wasn't really a question. He was looking around nervously.

Cloud shook his head and groaned at the movement.

"Fuck," Reno whispered. "I should get outta here before Zack kills me, yo." Reno rose to his feet but his legs wobbled and he had to sit back down. "Wow, I really drank a lot last night."

Cloud sighed. "Yeah. You did." Cloud remembered vividly the kiss they shared in the bar, making the fact that Reno had been sleeping with him all night all the worse. He searched his pockets for his phone and was at a loss. "Crap, where's my phone?"

Reno began to pat his pockets down as well, and seemed to be missing his phone.

"Zack's gonna kill me," Reno muttered and buried his face in his hands.

"This is my fault," Cloud quickly said. "I'll explain everything to Zack and it'll be okay." He clamoured to sit beside Reno. His legs weren't quite listening to him, so he stumbled slightly as he moved to sit beside him, feeling awkward and slow. He collapsed beside him and looked at his pale face.

"Yo, he is still gonna kill me," Reno said. "I kissed ya, after all."

Cloud sighed. "We'll explain it to him." Cloud was tempted to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but refrained.

 _~would not look good to touch him again~_

"Still gonna die," Reno mumbled and looked at him with large, sad blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Cloud."

"Hey, it's okay. I already told you to quit apologizing," Cloud said. "Zack can be reasonable."

Reno snorted. "He's always been jealous when I hang out with ya," Reno said. "He's always looked like he was gonna kill me when I talked to ya an' then I go an' kiss ya. I'm gonna be a skewered Turk." Reno put his face in his hands and his elbows sank to his knees. Cloud reached out and patted his back before he pulled his hand back into his own lap.

"It's not like Dream Zack," Reno whispered under his breath.

 _~Dream Zack~_

He must have looked shocked but Reno raised his eyebrows at him. "What?"

Cloud's throat felt dry. "Did … what did Dream Zack do last night?"

 _~was it a dream?~_

Cloud felt his heart beating faster. He thought it was a dream. It was too surreal not to be a dream. Zack walking in the room and allowing them to kiss …

 _~Reno kissed him~_

Cloud was about to ask him what his version of Dream Zack did when suddenly there was a sound at the door. He looked sharply at the figure there. "Ah, you two are finally awake."

Cloud was frozen in place at the sight of Zack. He was still wearing his uniform but without the belly armour…

 _~which I know he was wearing in the dream~_

… and with a cup of coffee in each hand. Cloud heard Reno gasp but he couldn't look at him; he was looking at Zack and couldn't take his eyes off the man.

Zack looked a little tired and stern. He didn't look mad, so that was a good thing. He held out a cup to each of them.

"Made you guy's some coffee." Zack held a cup in front of him. Cloud looked up a little nervously into Zack's eyes and really couldn't tell what he was thinking. Cloud took the cup and clasped it in both of his hands. He turned his head to see Zack holding a similar cup in front of Reno. Reno was sitting with his hands thrust between his legs and his shoulders hunched.

 _~he looks like he is expecting Zack to throw the cup in his face~_

"Take it," Zack said. His voice was soft. Reno looked up and looked like he was calculating how he was going to bolt from the room. Zack held the cup in front of Reno's face. Reno finally reached up with shaky hands and took it. He only looked briefly up at Zack as though he was afraid to look at him.

Zack took a step back. "I'll be right back." He shuffled a few more steps back and then turned and left the room.

Reno finally turned his eyes to him. He looked pale as he brought the shaking cup to his chest. "Do you think he poisoned it?" Reno whispered.

Cloud shook his head. "Don't think like that," Cloud whispered back but did look down at his coffee with concern. It smelled so good, though, and his headache was demanding that he take a sip.

"Yo, is this still Dream Zack?" Reno asked as he stared at his cup of coffee.

"What did you dream?" Cloud asked. He remembered the kiss. The kiss he encouraged Reno to give Zack.

 _~hot~_

He flushed and looked away from Reno and concentrated on his coffee. He didn't see Reno do the same with his.

"Nothin' important," Reno whispered and made a small content sound. "Baileys."

Cloud looked over to Reno to see that he had a cup brought to his lips and he had a sip of the coffee. "What?"

"He put Baileys in the coffee," Reno said with wide eyes.

Cloud quickly took a sip himself and there was the liquor in the coffee, and it tasted so good. He groaned as he took a large sip.

"Thought you guys needed a little something for your hangovers."

Both men looked up to see Zack at the door. He had his own cup of coffee in one hand and a chair from the dining room in the other. They both watched as Zack set the chair down and sat in it. "After all, we have a lot to talk about."

"It's my fault!" Cloud yelled.

"I'm a fuckin' idiot!" Reno whimpered at the same time.

Zack raised his hand that didn't have the cup of coffee. Cloud felt like he was about to be scolded like how he used to get when he was in school back home. He could never do anything right and the last night felt like nothing but a fuck-up.

"What happened?" Zack asked.

They both sat silent. Cloud found himself staring at his coffee and unable to get the words out.

He heard Reno whisper. "I don't have any good excuse for bein' a moron," Reno whispered. "Ya gonna kill me?"

Zack sighed heavily. "I want some answers first." His voice was a little chilled as he spoke. "I thought you had plans for the evening. What happened to those?" Zack was looking directly at Reno.

Reno didn't look up from his cup of coffee. Cloud saw him trying to get words out of his mouth, but every time he opened his mouth he seemed to choke on whatever he was going to say.

"Well?" Zack was sounding a little impatient.

Reno looked up and ran his teeth over his bottom lip. He looked so skittish, like he was a fox that was ready to bolt.

"What happened?" Zack pressed.

Reno sighed and his shoulders sagged. Cloud had to refrain from reaching out again to comfort him and tell him that everything was going to be all right.

 _~I didn't realize that I touch so much~_

"It started out good," Reno started, his voice sounding rather weak. "I … it just … didn't last long."

Zack frowned and his brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"

Cloud could see the quiver in Reno's shoulders and the pain of the memories of the night in his face. It had hurt him really bad and he was reliving it.

"Reno?"

Cloud surprised even himself. "He called him Genesis," he cried out. Both men looked at him and he found himself hunching away from both the looks. "Sorry," he whispered a bit awkwardly.

Zack's face softened considerably as he leaned back in his chair a bit as though he was thinking about something. Reno seemed like he was scared to talk, his throat moving as though he were trying to say something more, but words were not cooperating with him. The normally talkative Turk couldn't express his feelings.

"Is that true?" Zack asked, his voice sounding thick with concern. "Did he call you Genesis?"

Reno clamped his mouth shut and his lips were set in a thin line. Reno then nodded his head and looked at his lap. "I know it's no excuse."

"I thought he was over him," Zack whispered and leaned back in his chair, contemplating the information. Cloud looked between the men.

 _~does Zack know who Reno was out with?~_

He felt a little out of the loop but held his tongue. Obviously it was something that Reno didn't want to spread around, but after…

 _~we kissed~_

… the night they had, he was hoping that he would find out.

Reno just nodded and brought the quaking cup of coffee to his lips and took a small sip.

"What did you do?"

"I left," Reno said, his voice was low and soft. He still held the coffee close to his lips, as though he were trying to get courage from the vapours that it produced.

"And you decided that kissing Cloud was a good way to recover?"

Cloud watched as Zack pulled out a phone from his pocket and opened it. He scrolled through it quickly and then showed him the screen. "I was a little shocked to see the picture being passed around."

Cloud looked to see the picture he was showing. It showed him leaning his forehead against Reno, their lips were barely parted. The picture was obviously the one that Joseph took.

 _~Joseph is such a dead man~_

"Are ya gonna kill me now?" Reno whispered. Cloud looked to him and saw that Reno was staring intently into his cup of coffee. "I was a moron, okay. My excuses are feeble. I was feelin' down an' the alcohol an' the company at the bar wasn't makin' me feel any better."

Reno paused, his whole body shivering slightly. He raised his eyes briefly but quickly forced them down back to the coffee.

"I know it was stupid to do an' I'm sorry if I fucked ya guys up. I'll just go back to my place an' leave ya both alone now," Reno said. "I was a moron."

Cloud looked to Zack nervously. He didn't want Reno not to be a part of his life. He had always felt comfortable around him and he was good to talk to and to have fun with. He didn't want that silly mistake to be the end of their friendship.

 _~it could be awkward~_

Cloud knew it was selfish but he didn't want to lose his friend because of a small mistake.

"And how did you get into bed with my boyfriend?"

 _~yeah, there was that~_

"I just didn't want him to have a sore neck. Your couch isn't comfortable to sleep on," Cloud quickly said. "He was falling asleep out there and after how miserable he was, I didn't want to make it worse."

 _~that sounds so pathetic~_

Zack sighed and shook his head.

"Nothing happened!" Reno quickly said, raising his head to look at Zack.

Zack's blue eyes focused on Reno at first and then to Cloud. Cloud felt his heart beating frantically.

 _~he's going to get mad~_

"Are you sure nothing happened?" Zack said and took a sip of his coffee. "You two were awfully cuddly together."

Cloud slumped. He remembered reaching for the warm body beside him on the bed. He always did that. There had even been a few missions in the past where he was sleeping next to a fellow infantryman and they ended up cuddled together because of how he instinctively wanted to be near whatever was warm by him.

It must have looked really bad. His stomach churned at the thought.

"I'm sorry," Cloud whispered and heard Reno echo his words as well.

Zack cleared his throat. "Now, I have to talk to you two about that Dream Zack conversation that you were leaving me out on."

Cloud heard Reno gasp. He felt him move sharply on the bed. He looked over at the redhead to see that he was looking paler than before and his cup of coffee was quaking again in his hands.

"That was a dream!" Reno protested. "Right?" His eyes looked to Cloud.

Cloud could only blink. "You kept saying it was a dream."

 _~that just sounds stupid~_

They stared at each other for a bit before they turned to Zack. Cloud expected Zack to be showing anger but his face was showing … amusement.

He was trying to hide it, but he knew that look. He was trying to prevent his lips from turning into a smile.

Reno was looking absolutely horrified and scared. His cup even sloshed a little bit of the coffee on his hand. Cloud looked back at Zack who was now hiding his smirk behind his lips.

"Zack?" Cloud asked.

"I had a couple hours to think about that 'dream' that you two seemed to be having," Zack said. He looked at the picture on the phone again. "It was quite enlightening."

Reno looked like he was going to pass out. Cloud put a comforting hand on his back to make sure that he wasn't going to.

"What did you think about?" Cloud said as he looked at the smirking SOLDIER. He was not used to this look on his face. It confused him.

"I was thinking about how comfortable you two looked together," Zack said, his face becoming serious, "and how easily you were comforting each other."

Reno groaned. "It was such a nice dream." His voice was a low whisper as though he were just talking to himself.

"It was a nice dream," Cloud said without thinking. He swallowed hard and looked over at Zack.

"It was a dream that we all shared," Zack said as he finished off the coffee that was in his cup. Zack stood and put his cup on his chair and walked the single step to the bed and knelt down in front of both of them. Zack reached up then and placed a hand on his knee and Cloud quickly put his hand on his. He could feel that he was shaking a little. Zack was more nervous than he was letting on. Even with the small smile that was on his face, he was nervous.

His violet eyes looked at him. "It wasn't a bad dream at all, was it?"

Cloud shook his head.

 _~where was Zack going with this?~_

Zack reached up with his other hand and placed it on Reno's knee. "Are you okay, Reno?"

Reno jumped at the touch but didn't meet Zack's gaze. Reno shook his head negatively and it looked like he was going to start to hyperventilate.

"Sephiroth really hurt you, didn't he?" Zack whispered and there was compassion in his voice.

 _~Sephiroth?~_

Cloud swallowed hard at that. Reno was supposed to be on a date with Sephiroth. The muttering of the name of Genesis made a bit more sense. He had heard rumours about the men being together, but they were only rumours. It was always something that was joked about, even though no one knew for sure.

 _~I do now~_

Reno nodded. "I should go."

Reno tried to stand but Zack's hand kept him firmly still. "We have to talk about the dream."

"What's there to talk 'bout, yo?" Reno said and tried to stand again, but Zack's hand firmly pressed against his leg. Reno still couldn't look at Zack. The coffee in his hand spilled some more and Zack reached up and took the mug out of his hand.

"Stay," Zack said as he took the cup from Cloud as well. He put them on the chair and turned back to them.

"I'm not a mutt!" Reno snapped.

"I never said you were," Zack said, turning back.

"Then don't treat me like I'm gonna jus' follow your orders like some … some puppy!" Reno yelled and tried to stand again. Zack gripped Reno's leg rather hard. Reno yelled and gripped the hand tightly as though he were trying to pry it off.

"Let go of me," Reno growled, his lips curling up in a snarl.

"Not until I am done talking to you about last night!" Zack's voice was stern and his face set in a determined frown.

"I already said that I was a complete fuck-up an' I'll leave you guys alone already!" Reno's hand was straining to remove Zack's from his thigh.

Cloud chewed his lip as he looked at how intense the scene was. He didn't want them fighting but he didn't know what to say to stop them. Reno looked hurt and Zack looked angry. It did not look like a good situation all around.

 _~this is all my fault~_

"Zack?" he whispered, but he saw that he wasn't heard.

"You don't need to act like a jerk about it. I was trying to have a civil conversation," Zack snapped and seemed to be squeezing Reno's thigh harder. He could see that Zack was hurting him from the flash of pain that crossed Reno's face before he schooled it back to neutral.

"Well, I don't wanna talk 'bout it anymore!" Reno snapped. "Let me up!"

"No!" Zack was leaning into Reno, as though he were trying to force Reno to remain there. "We are dealing with this all right now!"

"I'm tired of dealin' with this shit!" Reno yelled back.

Cloud blinked at the scene as they yelled at each other. His concern leaving his mind as he saw how he was gripping Reno's leg and how they were leaning into each other. Reno was grabbing onto the strong forearm of Zack with an equally furious grip.

He was aware that they were arguing now, but now he couldn't help but remember quite vividly how they looked when they had kissed in the dream.

 _~which wasn't a dream~_

Zack wasn't fighting them crawling all over him last night. Cloud narrowed his eyes and set his lips in a line. Zack very much was willing enough to let them lean against him and kiss them. The kiss that he had shared with Reno was a light one, but it didn't mean anything less and he knew that Zack enjoyed it, even if he was a little shocked over it.

 _~It wasn't like you didn't mind watching it either~_

Reno growled something to Zack that made Zack increase his grip on his leg. They were arguing like male chocobos during mating season. They were snapping at each other and reeling back.

"Enough!" Cloud yelled and stood up. His head didn't like the quick movement but he tried not to sway too much. They both looked at him.

"Just kiss and make up already!" Cloud said. It felt like ages ago, but he did remember the conversation with pesky Joseph after he first started seeing Zack in a romantic way. He did remember how he flushed at the thought of Reno and Zack being together and the pest asking if he was in with the two.

 _~I guess the jerk does know something about relationships~_

They were both looking at him with slacked jaws. Zack was blinking his eyes as though he were trying to understand what he was seeing. Reno's eyes were the largest he had ever seen and his eyebrows were lost in his droopy bangs.

"What?" Zack finally said. Cloud noted that his grip was loosening on Reno's leg, and Reno let his loosen as well, as they seemed to be realizing how close they were to each other.

"You heard me," Cloud said. "Kiss and make up."

Reno opened his mouth but all that came out of it was a small shocked sound.

"You both liked it last night. Do it again and quit fighting," Cloud said. "Oh, and don't either of you say that you didn't like it!" Cloud felt a little lightheaded. He wanted some more of the coffee with the Baileys in it and he wanted to curl back up into bed.

 _~and curl up in the middle of the two~_

Cloud blinked at the thought and felt his face turn bright red.

"You want us to kiss?" Zack asked even though it wasn't really a question.

Cloud nodded his head, losing his entire bravado as his mind was going out the window at the new and very vivid thoughts of what they looked like kissing …

 _~and more~_

… and pressed against each other's chests.

Cloud brought his hand to cover his face and sat back down on the bed with a groan.

 _~I can't even blame Joseph for these images~_

There was silence in the room and Cloud kept his eyes closed. His whole body felt tense and his thoughts were now on the fact that he just lost his boyfriend and one of his best friends because he couldn't stop himself from cuddling with Reno while they slept.

He hated that they were arguing. They had nearly been at each other's throats every time he was involved in the conversation. They had all been civil before he started seeing Zack.

 _~before Reno saw us kiss~_

Cloud remembered his conversation with Reno and how his words seemed to be tinged with jealousy but something else as well.

He knew it was silly to think like this and maybe a little bit warped to have the thoughts and getting excited about the fact that his boyfriend could kiss Reno again, and that he liked the idea more than he wanted to let on.

"What?" Reno said. Zack made a small gasping sound.

He looked over to the two men who were looking at each other. He couldn't help but swallow at the sight of them and he trapped his lip between his teeth.

~ _they are so close~_

"A kiss?" Zack said as he looked at Reno.

Reno's eyes seem to grow wider. "A kiss?" Reno repeated and sounded nearly breathless.

Cloud watched as Zack leaned into Reno and Reno leaned forward.

He held his breath as their lips touched. He watched as their lips moved together. It was slow as he watched their eyes close as their lips parted. It was more of a kiss than the Dream Zack kiss. He could see how their tongues reached out as they took in a breath.

He then had to take a breath before he passed out and was a little embarrassed that he couldn't control the moan that escaped him.

The two men parted and they looked at him. Reno looked stunned as his eyes blinked rapidly. Cloud felt every part of his body tensing at the sight. He knew that he shouldn't be so excited …

 _~and getting hard~_

… when his boyfriend was kissing another. He wanted to see them kiss again and he wanted to join …

 _~I'm such a pervert~_

He felt his face burning and he had to look away as he covered his face at the embarrassment that he felt at this simple and wonderful scene.

That was when he heard laughing. It was Zack. He opened his eyes to see Zack now sitting on the floor and laughing.

Reno was looking more confused and his brow furrowed. He was scratching his head in confusion.

"Don't laugh. It's not funny," Cloud snapped and twisted uncomfortably. That was not the reaction that he was expecting out of Zack.

Reno looked just as confused. Zack looked at them and still continued to laugh.

"I have never seen your face so red before!" Zack said after he took a gulp of air. "Both of you are as red as tomatoes!" He started to laugh again.

Cloud wrinkled his nose at his laughter and his discomfort. Reno looked just as confused and uncomfortable at the situation.

"Only you would suggest kissing," Zack said, as his laughing calmed down to chuckling.

Cloud looked to Reno who was watching Zack warily as he licked his lips as though he still tasted the lips that had been touching his.

"What's that smile about?" Zack asked as he sat with crossed legs on the floor and looked up at them. Cloud didn't even realize he was smiling but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

 _~make fun of me wanting to see you kiss Reno, will you~_

Cloud acted before he really thought more on it. He moved a little closer to Reno, reaching his hand up quickly before he lost his nerve to turn Reno's face towards him. He quickly leaned into the Turk and kissed him. He heard Reno groan into him as their lips moved together. He tried to mimic the action that he just watched before he had to stop for a breath of air.

They parted and Cloud rested his head against Reno's shoulder and wrapped his arm around his waist. He kept his eyes closed as he listened to the room. The only sounds were of them breathing.

 _~Well, at least Zack isn't laughing anymore~_

Reno whispered, "This is so much better than the dream." Cloud felt Reno wrap his arm around him and compliment the embrace.

Cloud felt the bed shift slightly and Reno stiffened. Cloud opened his eyes to see Zack on the other side of Reno and reaching around them to embrace them both. "Would a dream feel this good?"

Reno groaned. "Yo, I have had-er some –ah- are – um …"

Cloud felt Zack's hand trace along his shoulder and he could see out of the corner of his eye that Zack's other hand was running up and down Reno's leg. Cloud decided that was a good idea and started to mimic the movement.

"What's that?" Zack whispered. Cloud could hear the amusement in his voice at the stammering Reno.

Reno moaned. "I-I just," Reno hesitated and his eyes closed. "Are ya messin' with me?" There was pain in his voice and Cloud wanted nothing more than to help get rid of that pain. He placed his lips on his neck to try to calm him.

It was Zack that answered. "No, Reno."

"I don't wanna mess ya two up," Reno whispered and tilted his head. Cloud kept brandishing kisses along his neck, trying to take the pain that he kept hearing in his voice.

"You won't," Cloud whispered and continued kissing Reno's neck.

"Damn, you two have no idea how good this feels," Reno moaned and closed his eyes. Cloud found him pressing against the redhead and then reaching for Zack. He looked at him to make sure that it was really okay.

Zack was smiling at him and it reached his eyes. It was an odd feeling and he wasn't sure if Zack really wanted this, but he didn't look upset.

He heard Zack chuckle. "Well, I think Cloud is attached to you now and how can I refuse something that Cloud wants?" Cloud lifted his head and looked into Zack's violet eyes. He wanted to kiss him. He couldn't reach Zack to kiss him, so he smiled back and ran his hand up his arm to his shoulder.

"You guys want me?" Reno whispered.

"I had all night and most of the morning to think about it," Zack said. Cloud was a little shocked and pleased to hear that he was thinking about it.

 _~more than pleased~_

The room was silent again with only the breathing of the men. Cloud slowed his movements on Reno's leg but resumed the soft kisses along his throat. He squeezed Zack's arm to ensure himself that he was still there.

"I hope that this isn't another damn vivid dream," Reno whispered.

"Well, then we can all have the dream together."

"I won't want this dream to end," Reno said and turned his head. Cloud couldn't hold back anymore and shifted so that he could give Reno a quick kiss.

"I wouldn't want it to end either," Cloud said as he pulled back.

"It's not a dream," Zack said, as he pressed his forehead into his shoulder. "We'd already be naked if it was."

Cloud was pretty sure that Zack was just joking at his statement but the words slipped his lips before he could stop them. "Well, we better hurry and catch up to the dream."

He felt his cheeks start to burn again as both Reno and Zack started to laugh.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **General Authors Note:**  
>  Joseph may be a jerk and odd, but he has a strange incite into people. That was way back in like chapter 23- Red, is where he noted this. SO HE IS GOOD FOR SOMETHING … So you really can't hate him all that much anymore, can you? Do you remember the scene in the cafeteria, where John took a picture? Yeah. I do.
> 
>  **Pervy Authors Note:**  
>  AND CLOUD IS SUCH A CUTE PERV! OMG… Can you see where the next chapter is going? It is all working as my perverted mind intended.
> 
>  **Author Love Note:**  
>  I have slowed down on my oneshots … caught up on what was owed. And I have a total of 90 (not all posted yet) TFLN ready to go. I am just letting you guys all know that I love every single one of the reviews on this and my other works! I am glad that I still amuse you in some way! LOVES YOU ALL!
> 
>  **Serious Authors Note:**  
>  Well, RL has hit me with a hammer! Bashed down a bit and had a rough week and so far behind in my writing now. Just to let you guys know if you don't hear from me, I will be back… just need to deal with that RL hammer and get it tucked back away so that I don't have other worries.
> 
> .:Smooches:.


	50. Saturday: Part Duex

Reno prevented Cloud from pulling away. He liked the warm hug that he was in between the two men. He was nervous, yes, but he liked it. He didn't think they were the type to push him out after they used him, and Zack would have killed him by now if it was a problem.

 _~and I have a growing problem~_

Reno tugged on the blond's shirt, who was grumbling at them about being jerks, even though he could feel the evidence of how Cloud really felt pressed against his thigh. His own growing problem was trapped painfully in his pants.

"Damn, you're hot," Reno mumbled.

"And he's cute too," Zack whispered and he felt the SOLDIER's lips against his neck. It was strange and exhilarating. He still wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, but he wasn't going to stop it from happening.

It felt so damn good to be wanted.

Cloud wrinkled his nose and leaned into him. "I'm not cute," he spoke with a little bit of ice in his voice.

"You're so cute," Zack said with a grin.

Cloud seemed agitated to be called cute. Cloud reached forward and gently slapped him. "Quit calling me cute."

Reno almost felt like he was intruding a little with this private joke, but it seemed that Cloud really didn't like being called 'cute'. That was very much evident. "Well, You're definitely easy on the eyes." He looked to Cloud.

"That's a much better phrase than being called 'cute'," Cloud said and pulled away from Zack and leaned against him. Cloud grabbed a hold of Reno's face and suddenly they were kissing. Kissing deeply and with the feeling of Zack's hand pressed against his neck and holding him close. Zack didn't say anything as his strong fingers stroked him. It was sensual but a little unnerving as he could feel the strength in his fingers.

"So you kiss him because he says that you are easy on the eyes?" Zack said, and Reno could feel him breathing by his ear. It sent shivers down his spine.

"Yep," Cloud said as he pulled out of the kiss. "Anything is better than 'cute'."

Reno didn't agree. The blond-haired infantryman was damn cute, but he wasn't going to say that out loud.

 _~especially when he most likely would stop kissing me~_

Cloud seemed more than eager to continue with the kissing.

"You're damn adorable," Zack said. "Both of you are so damn cute."

 _~he just called me cute~_

"Yo, I ain't cute," Reno responded.

Cloud snorted. "He has a thing for that word."

"Hey," Zack said, trying to look hurt but not succeeding. Zack leaned back a bit and looked at them with brilliant, violet eyes. "I can't help it if you two look so damn adorable."

Reno wrinkled his nose. "I dun think I like the word 'cute', yo." As he spoke, he felt Cloud's hands move underneath his shirt around his belly. He could feel Cloud move around him as if he was displaying what he was doing to Zack. He could see Zack's eyes were wandering down to where Cloud's hands travelled.

Cloud seemed to notice where Zack's eyes were wandering and Reno felt his shirt being lifted and his belly being exposed. He tried really hard to keep his breathing under control.

Cloud's fingers gently stroked up and down his stomach. "Well, maybe we should show him what the two 'cute' guys can do while he watches," Cloud whispered. Reno was enjoying the touch and he suddenly wanted to touch back.

 _~wanna touch them both~_

Reno ran his hands down Cloud's arms and entwined his fingers in his, stopping the stroking motion. He tilted his head back so that he could capture Cloud's mouth in a kiss and it was with this time that he was leading. He closed his eyes and moved his mouth with Cloud and tasted the Baileys-sweetened coffee on his lips and tongue.

He pulled Cloud's hands away from his belly and turned himself so that he was facing him. He moved one of his knees onto the bed so that he was now dominating the younger man.

Cloud didn't seem to mind as he pushed him so that he was lying on the bed and he pinned Cloud's arms above his head. Cloud made the most delightful sound and stretched out beneath him. Reno was now straddling Cloud and he very much liked being able to dominate instead of being dominated. The blond's face was pleasantly flushed in this position.

 _~damn it. Zack's right. Cloud is cute~_

He heard a deep chuckle beside him and looked back at Zack who was now leaning casually on the bed.

 _~damn him and that smile of his~_

It made his heart skip a beat when Zack so casually and elegantly leaned on his elbow; his brilliantly violet eyes looking at him in a way that he didn't think could be possible. He felt like he belonged for a change, and that felt good.

He didn't have to worry about their motives.

 _~can worry about that later~_

They weren't going to call him Genesis. They weren't going to tell him not to touch. They weren't going to leave him hanging and wanting more. They wanted him to be Reno and not something or someone else.

"Well, are you going to just sit on him, or are you going to undress him?" Zack said in a voice that was a little deeper than normal. Reno couldn't help but think about how sexy his voice was. Zack had always a nice voice and hearing it a little husky was really something hot.

Reno felt Cloud pull his hands free from his grip and he forced his attention to the blond man. Cloud was tugging at his shirt again. Cloud's blue eyes were moving rapidly from Reno to Zack.

"Take it off," Cloud said as he tugged on the tight shirt.

Reno chuckled and leaned back so that he was sitting on Cloud's thighs and pulled off his shirt in one smooth motion. Now, he had to get the clothes off of the man that was beneath him. He heard Zack make a small gasp.

 _~shit~_

Before Reno could say anything to stop the questions about the tattoo on his back, he felt fingers trace the lines as the bigger man moved beside him and nuzzled his neck. "I didn't know you had this much ink," Zack said.

Reno was going to answer about it being his past affiliations but fingers on the front of his pants distracted him. Cloud's fingers were working on the buttons of his jeans. He gasped and looked down at Cloud who was focusing fiercely on the buttons.

 _~not gonna be naked first~_

Reno reached down and started to tug on Cloud's shirt. Cloud groaned in protest but let him pull the shirt off.

 _~damn, he's hot~_

He knew that he had seen both of the men without their shirts before. He knew that they had very nice chests and toned stomachs. Cloud's abs were much more delicious-looking up close. Of course, Cloud had been working out a lot with his ambition to be in SOLDIER. He ran his hands over the well-developed muscles and chewed his lip.

 _~how can he be so hard and so soft?~_

Cloud smiled up at him as he tossed the shirt across the room. For a brief moment, he wondered where his shirt went, but that thought was quickly lost.

"Damn," Reno muttered as he ran his hands up Cloud's chest to his throat. Zack's warm hand landed on his thigh where he had been squeezing earlier. He was stroking it almost as though he were apologizing from his earlier abuse.

Cloud's fingers had succeeded in undoing his pants and his fingers were tracing over the underwear he was wearing.

"Ya dun waste any time, yo," Reno whispered as he raked his hands down the younger man's body. Not that he was complaining.

"You need to get these off," Cloud said as he tugged on the pants.

"Well, ya better take yours off," Reno responded.

Reno decided to ignore the deep chuckle and whispered word 'impatience' from the man who had his hand against his thigh.

Reno moved to the opposite side of Cloud and started to remove his pants. He could see Zack watching with amused interest. Cloud wiggled on the bed, trying to get out of his tight suede pants. Cloud looked like he was having a little difficulty.

"Pants are too tight," Cloud mumbled as he wiggled and tried to pull them down. Zack frowned at him suddenly as he looked up from Cloud squirming to get those pants down his thighs.

Reno just shrugged and smiled as he removed his clothes. "Ya gonna keep your clothes on and watch, yo?" Reno asked. Cloud turned his head to Zack and there was a smile on his lips as he continued to wiggle adorably out of his pants.

"Oh, hell no," Zack said and started to pull off his shirt. Reno stared at Zack's chest and stomach. Seeing them bunch and move with such strength and ease was amazing. Seeing how his sides stretched as he pulled the shirt over his head and casually tossed it across the room was casually sensual. He doubted Zack knew how sexy he was. His naturally tanned skin was in contrast to Cloud's much paler skin.

Seeing them close together like that was incredible. Reno watched as Zack leaned forward and kissed Cloud. Reno had his pants off, but he still only had his underwear half off. He had to stop and look at the men. Cloud's hand snaked into Zack's hair as Zack's tanned hand pressed against Cloud's chest.

They stopped the kiss and Zack's hand moved down to Cloud's to help him remove those tight pants.

 _~never thought there could be such a disadvantage of the tight pants~_

He finally realized that he was gawking, and he licked his lips to see if he was drooling at the sight. He wasn't, but he sure was feeling a little lightheaded.

Especially when he realized that Zack was moving down to remove those pants off of Cloud's lower legs, revealing Cloud's already overexcited member.

 _~he hadn't been wearin' any underwear!~_

"Yo, this is every man's fantasy come true," Reno whispered. Violet and blue eyes turned to him and two sets of very bright, white smiles.

"Every man's fantasy?" Zack said. "Or just yours?"

Reno flushed at the sexy timber in Zack's voice. "Darn right. Do ya know how hot that is?" He was staring at Cloud who was lying on the bed as he was helping Zack get him out of his pants. He was breathing shallowly and his eyes were glazed over.

He could stare at that young, lithe body for hours. He may have fantasized about this moment since he had first seen them kiss, but there was nothing like being involved. Cloud was wiggling his legs, trying to help Zack get the snug pants off. The movement of his muscles were smooth and the wonderfully stiff muscle that lay between his legs bounced slightly at the movements.

 _~I wanna touch and I wanna taste~_

Reno reached forward, placing his hands on Cloud's hip. He wanted to touch him so bad, but he wasn't sure if it was appropriate to do so. He allowed his fingers to slide along his hip and across the firm stomach. He was not sure what the protocols were for threesomes.

He wanted to touch them both, but Cloud was very naked and looking very touchable at the moment.

Zack must have felt the same way. Zack's hand went to Cloud's hip and copied his motions. Cloud leaned forward and grabbed the back of Zack's neck and gave him a deep kiss.

Reno was mesmerized by how their lips moved together. He could tell that they really cared for each other and he suddenly felt like an imposter.

Despite the invitations that he had been given to join them, the kiss was saying that these two were meant for each other. He was going to say something when Cloud pushed Zack out of the kiss.

"You think you can get away with calling me cute?" Cloud said at the startled look on Zack's face. It was quite adorable to see the normally confident Zack being put in his place by Cloud, but then Cloud seemed to do that to Reno as well.

 _~cute wins~_

Before Reno could retaliate, Cloud moved against him. A hand was placed against the back of his neck and he was suddenly being assaulted with a demanding kiss. He felt himself being pulled down beside Cloud so that he was resting beside him, still with Cloud in control of the kiss. Reno let his hands roam the firm body, and Cloud buried his hands in his hair.

He enjoyed the feel of the warmth of the body as he rocked against the lithe form, pressing his hardness against Cloud's thigh.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Zack said. He sounded a bit startled.

Reno glanced over at Zack. He was staring at them with his very bright eyes and Reno felt nervous again. He didn't want them to fight over things after all. Not at this stage.

"You have to wait your turn," Cloud said as he pulled out of the kiss. Reno became very aware of the fact that Cloud's hand moved down to his hip. Reno looked from Cloud to Zack and then back again.

 _~turn?~_

"Turn?" Zack vocalized and looked a little confused.

Cloud nodded his head. "The cute," Cloud spoke that single word with disdain, "guys are going to have some fun and you are going to have to wait."

"Wait?"

Reno was startled as a hand grabbed him. The hand was warm and squeezed him firmly as it wrapped around his dick. He groaned and rested his head against the blond's shoulder.

"What if I don't want to wait?" Zack said as he stroked Cloud's hip. Zack did look impatient.

Cloud smiled and reached his free hand over to Zack's hand and grabbed it. He pulled it off his hip and brought Zack's hand to his mouth and kissed the fingers before he brought one into his mouth and sucked.

Zack seemed completely lost in the action.

Reno was fascinated himself. He thought that Zack would be the one that was leading in the bedroom. He didn't think it was really Cloud that had him wrapped around his little finger.

 _~and other parts~_

And not only was Zack wrapped around his little finger, Cloud's mouth was wrapped around Zack's fingers. Zack groaned and Reno found his eyes wandering to the fact that Zack was still wearing his pants and the tightness of the tent that was formed there looked almost painful.

Cloud's fingers were moving around Reno's member. The movement was like his fingers were milking him, and when he felt his thumb roll along the head of his penis, he couldn't help but groan.

 _~wanna touch~_

He had hand jobs before 

 _~just last night~_

 but they never started out feeling that good right off the bat. Maybe it was the fact that they were in a threesome and the two hottest guys he had ever encountered were with him, or maybe it was Cloud's voodoo fingers. Reno then remembered that he could touch as well. He didn't have anyone to tell him that he was not supposed to touch, and he moved his hand down from the firm stomach to the leaking member.

He never got to touch Sephiroth other than pulling the man's hair, as Sephiroth had taken the lead from him rather quickly. Cloud's grip increased and Reno increased his. The velvety flesh felt nice in his grip as he gently moved his hand.

Zack's fingers fell out of Cloud's lips and Cloud let out the most delicious moan. "Oh," was the only coherent word that came out of Cloud's mouth as his hips thrust into his hand.

"I wanna taste ya," Reno whispered into his shoulder. He licked his lips as he tried to focus his eyes on Cloud.

Cloud shivered and his hand squeezed him almost painfully.

Zack hummed. "I can wait, if you guys want to do that." He looked up at Zack and wondered what he was talking about. He had an odd smile that Reno hadn't seen before and had a hard time reading. Cloud chuckled and removed his hand from him and grabbed his hip.

"I wanna taste you too," Cloud said in the sexiest voice that he had ever heard.

Reno groaned and was forced to release Cloud as he moved. Zack was helping him and was behind Cloud. He felt a little bare not being close to Cloud for those few seconds before Cloud lay comfortably beside him again, but in a different position that was much more interesting.

"Oh," Reno finally said as he realized now what they had been talking about.

 _~has it been so long since you sixtynined anyone?~_

He chose to ignore his own internal question as he admired the present that was in front of his face. He could see Zack's battle-toughened hand rubbing Cloud's hip.

Cloud didn't waste any time getting comfortable in the position. He felt a warm hand cup his balls and a warm mouth surrounding his shaft.

 _~fuck~_

Reno couldn't help but have his eyes roll back in his head as he gripped Cloud's hips. He looked up to see Zack looking down at him.

He thought he would be uncomfortable in a threesome in real life. Fantasy was one thing, reality was often a brutal reminder that things should remain in fantasy. He knew this was an activity that was usually reserved for two and had never been involved in one before. Zack reached over to Reno and ran his hand through his hair.

 _~does he see how nervous I am?~_

He was thrilled when Zack leaned over Cloud and kissed him. A gentle kiss where Zack played his tongue across his lips for a moment before his mouth was abruptly torn from his. The bed had moved around him and he tried to figure out what had caused it.

Zack chuckled and patted Cloud's hip. "I guess he is serious when he says that I am only allowed to watch, eh?"

Cloud pulled his mouth from around him. "You're the one that wanted to taste me and you are sucking face with Zack."

 _~oh yeah, Cloud is the one in charge in the bedroom~_

Cloud opened his mouth and took him in again, sucking with more vigour than before. Reno groaned but followed the lead. He cupped Cloud's balls in his hand and sucked gently on the head. Cloud's tongue ran around Reno's tip; Reno followed his lead and did the same.

 _~Cloud sure knows what he's doin'~_

Cloud took more of his dick into his mouth and Reno followed suit. He kept his eyes open, looking up at Zack who seemed fascinated by what he was doing. Zack still had his hand on Cloud's hip and his fingers were moving to massage and prevent the slender hips from thrusting forward.

 _~he's liking the show~_

Reno took more of the velvety member into his mouth and hollowed his cheeks a bit, trying to move his tongue over the vein along the bottom of his penis.

Cloud hummed and that just about made Reno yell with pleasure if his mouth had not been so full. Cloud thrust his hips forward and he was grateful that Zack was holding him back because he was nearly choking on the cock as it were.

Reno tried to make that humming sound but failed and decided to stick to what he knew how to do. He started to bob his head in a steady motion; he tasted Cloud, and he tasted good.

Cloud did something near impossible with his tongue as it seemed to wrap around his dick in a tight circle; it was nearly mind-blowing. It caused him to stop what he was doing and close his eyes. He took in a couple of deep breaths through his nose before he could start again. Just as he thought he was going to gain control again, Cloud's fingers started to massage his balls.

 _~so damn good~_

Zack's hand moved from Cloud's hip and he felt the fingers thread through his hair and brushed it back from his face. Reno assumed it was because he wanted a better look. Zack groaned and looked like he wanted to say something, but was at a loss for words.

Reno closed his eyes again and concentrated on the warm member in his mouth. He wanted this to be a good morning and he wanted to be able to wash away all the other shit that had gone on in the past with the other two men that had hunted him down.

He grinned around the flesh that was filling his mouth. The two men he wanted the most and thought that he would never have were right where he had dreamed he would be the happiest.

 _~didn't dream of this position~_

Nor did he dream about the pleasure that he was feeling. Cloud's mouth was expertly working on his member, and Reno was trying so hard to concentrate on Cloud's twitching cock that was pressing against the back of his throat, and the added distraction of the gentle hand that was in his hair.

He could feel the pressure in his belly growing at the position and stimulation. He felt lips against his cheek. He opened his eyes to see the dark-haired man leaning over Cloud and kissing his cheek gently. "Can I?"

 _~can what?~_

He didn't know what Zack was asking but he nodded. He felt Zack move around him and saw him reach for the drawer by the bedside table and seem to be trying to remove his pants at the same time.

He would have chuckled if Cloud hadn't changed how he was sucking on him. The blond's hand that was on his balls squeezed him firmly and Reno had to concentrate on making sure that he did not bite down on the flesh that was still in his mouth.

 _~this is heaven~_

Reno did hear the drawer close, and a amusing array of small curses that followed. His eyes were closed and he tried to just focus on Cloud for a moment. He didn't want to be distracted further, even though Cloud was doing his damnest to distract him.

He felt the bed shift again and felt a naked warmth press against his back. Reno nearly faltered in his motions but kept his actions steady and tried not to look back to wonder what Zack was doing.

 _~I dreamed of a Cloud sandwich and look at what happened~_

Zack's warm hands roamed up his back to his shoulders, then back down again. Reno slowed his actions as he felt a hand sweep hair away from his neck and warm, moist lips press against him.

 _~more than just lips pressing against me~_

He could feel Zack's whole body pressing against him as well as his stiffness pressing against his bottom.

The whole array of sensation was new and overwhelming. He needed to breathe but he didn't want to disappoint Cloud who was twitching in his mouth. He frantically reached back and felt his hand meet with Zack's side.

Cloud changed his actions again as that mouth of his just wrapped around the head of his penis, and Reno felt the tongue probing his sensitive opening. Cloud's dick fell out of his mouth as he cried out. The Turk leaned his head back and felt it hit Zack's shoulder. His whimpering was quickly caught by Zack's mouth that covered his.

The kiss was deep but was brief as Zack's hand squeezed his ass. Reno whimpered as their lips parted.

"Good, huh?" Zack whispered.

Cloud sucked harder and Reno thought he was going to lose it.

 _~what the hell is he doing with his tongue?~_

It was impossible what Cloud was doing with his tongue, and his thought continued to scatter with the feel of Zack's hand moving between his cheeks. He instinctively pushed against his hand and the hardness that was pressing against him.

Cloud let him fall out of his mouth. "Not until I'm done," was what he blurted and then his mouth surrounded him. Reno thrust into the warm mouth as he was being deep throated. He could feel Cloud's tongue at the base of his cock and his tip at the back of his throat.

He groaned and Cloud's dick pressed against his cheek and he took it back in his mouth. He sucked harder and wondered briefly what Cloud was referring to. He heard Zack chuckle by his ear and he felt Zack's teeth rake along his lobe.

His stomach filled with tension and he thought his spine was trying to break itself in two. He felt Zack's finger press against his opening and it was all too much. He sucked harder on Cloud and hoped that he could make him come too. He didn't know how to read the blond, but the moaning around his own cock was enough to tell him that he was doing something right.

He wasn't going to last much longer and he tried to send a warning, but a soft whisper from Zack in his ear could not be denied. "Let go."

He tried to let out a warning again as the tension was released and the bliss of an orgasm shook every muscle in his body. It didn't matter, as Cloud made a muffled grunt and started to twitch more in his mouth. Cloud thrust forward into his mouth and Reno nearly gagged as the warm fluid filled his own. Reno groaned as he knew that he was doing the exact same thing into Cloud's mouth and wondered for a moment if it was making Cloud's orgasm more intense as it was doing to his. He leaned back against Zack as the mythical fireworks rolled over him. He could feel the wonderful mouth still working on him and felt a little bad that Cloud again fell out of his mouth as he arched into the orgasm. The dark-haired man held him as he arched, and Reno felt Zack's hardness press against him and his finger push a little harder against his entrance. He didn't mind the rest of Cloud's cum that fell on his face as he tried to catch his breath.

Cloud slowly allowed Reno's softening cock out of his mouth and pulled away enough so that he could look up at him with large, dreamy blue eyes. There was a satisfied smirk on his face as his chest tightened. Zack now had his arm wrapped around him to hold him in place.

 _~best moment of my life~_

Cloud shifted to lay so they were face-to-face. Cloud's motions were sluggish as he kissed him. Reno could taste himself on Cloud's lips and he didn't mind at all.

"Fuck," Reno said breathlessly.

"Not yet. I got to get you ready," Zack said.

He blinked furiously at Zack's words. He was still trying to come back from the bliss that had just occurred when he realized it wasn't over. Zack's hand was rubbing his ass and had a finger trailing between his cheeks again.

He could only groan as Cloud gave him a sleepy look and goofy smile. "You got my stuff all over your face," Cloud whispered and brushed his face with his fingers.

"Where'd ya learn to do that stuff with your tongue?" Reno moaned, enjoying the touches that were sensual and tender.

Cloud gave him a sleepy shrug and a casual lick of his lips. He pulled a pillow under his head. "You weren't so bad yourself," Cloud said and his eyes blinked slowly. He looked like he was going to fall asleep. Zack leaned over him, with that strong arm in front of him, and leaned down to kiss Cloud on the cheek.

"He gets sleepy after booze and sex," Zack explained.

"Do not," Cloud said feebly.

Reno was very aware of Zack's hardness pressing against his side now. Zack eased back with a chuckle and kissed his neck. "Are you okay with this?" Zack asked. Reno felt him run his hand between his ass cheeks again as he continued to kiss his neck.

Reno gave out a groan and pushed against the hand.

 _~fuck yeah~_

"I think that means 'yes'," Cloud said as he blinked his blue eyes. He may have looked a little sleepy, but he sure did look excited.

"Pass the stuff, Cloud," Zack whispered, his other hand still working on his bottom and rubbing the small entrance. Reno was not one to usually recover so fast. He was always up for a night of fun but this was turning him on again. He usually needed another hour but he was getting excited, even though he wasn't getting hard just yet. He could feel the pressure growing again.

Cloud slowly rolled over and grabbed a bottle off the end table and a small package.

 _~Zack was getting the stuff ready~_

Reno was not minding at all as he was moved into a kneeling position. He took the pillow that Cloud had been resting against and put it under his head as Zack massaged his lower back and bottom.

He couldn't help but push against the calloused hands.

"Patience," Zack whispered.

Cloud brought over the lube and handed it to Zack. Cloud laid down beside him so that they were face-to-face and he started to run his hands through his hair, but Cloud's eyes were on Zack.

Reno almost wished that he could see what Zack was doing. He heard the cap of the bottle open with a small click, while the other hand was still running up and down his back. Zack continued the sensual massage for another moment before all he felt was the warm body behind him. He didn't have to wait long before he felt a moist finger press against his opening.

He bit his lip at the feeling of being entered. It had been so long since he had been with someone.

 _~and now you are with two someones~_

Zack was gentle in his actions and he appreciated it. He could feel Zack's stiffness poking against his side and he knew that he must be restless. Reno wanted this so bad that he pushed against the fingers. Cloud hummed agreeably and kept stroking his hair in an appreciative and soothing way.

Zack pushed another finger inside and curled them. He gave out a startled yelp that he couldn't hold back. A groan left his lips right after.

Zack chuckled. "Well, I guess I found the spot."

 _~oh yeah~_

Cloud leaned forward and kissed him. Reno lifted himself up off the pillow to deepen the kiss and to put more force behind pushing against those heavenly fingers.

He heard the dark-haired man groan and his fingers twirled inside him. He was starting to get hard again. Cloud broke the kiss and smiled at him. Reno smiled back at him but quickly placed his head back on the pillow and groaned as Zack's fingers pressed in him, sending rushes of pleasure through his belly and back.

"Need this?" Cloud asked. Reno cracked open an eye and saw Cloud holding a condom package.

"Not yet," Zack whispered. "He's almost hard again."

"Want me to help with that?" Cloud said and before Reno could ask what he meant, a hand was wrapped around his slowly stiffening cock and massaged it gently.

"You two are going to kill me," Reno groaned into the pillow.

They both laughed sensually. Cloud then moved to massaging his balls and that was a wonderful feeling with those thick fingers moving inside of him.

The two men paid him divine attentions for a few more minutes and he was almost painfully hard again in that short period of time.

"Okay," Zack said.

Cloud stopped massaging him. He looked back to see Cloud open the condom. "Roll onto your back, Reno," Zack said.

 _~I love how he says my name~_

He eagerly obeyed and he spread his legs so Zack could move between them. Zack grabbed his knees and pulled him up onto his spread thighs.

He gave a small yelp and got a good look at Zack naked. Zack had some pretty impressive equipment that was surrounded by sparse curly dark hair. Reno saw it twitch in anticipation. Zack looked perfect with a flush that seemed to cover his whole body and darkened his groin. Zack was a fine specimen of a man and there was nothing that Reno could see as a flaw.

"Damn," Reno muttered.

Cloud must have opened the condom and he grabbed Zack's cock, giving it a few strokes. Zack sucked in a sharp breath. "Cloud," Zack moaned the name and the tone of his voice sent shivers through his stomach. Cloud chuckled and Reno watched in fascination as Cloud placed the condom over Zack's tip.

"Did I tell ya guys that this was the best fantasy come true ever?" Reno whispered and wiggled uncomfortably. He wanted more and he was getting a little impatient, but he wanted to watch all the same, to see what Cloud was going to do next. Cloud slowly started to roll the condom down Zack's cock.

"You're teasing," Zack groaned as he looked at Cloud. Cloud just returned his smile as he finally rolled the condom down the impressive length and then gave Zack's balls a small, appreciative squeeze.

Zack grunted and scowled at Cloud who only grinned and started to slide his hand down Zack's thigh and then moved to Reno's.

"Ready?" Zack said as he grabbed hold of his member with one hand and tugged on Reno's hip with the other.

"Darn right, yo," Reno said as he felt the head bump against his entrance. Reno relaxed as much as he could but he was tense with anticipation. Cloud's hands were now running down his side and he returned to laying beside him.

His whole body was screaming for this and he wanted to be filled. He wanted it and wanted it bad.

Then Zack pushed forward. He arched his back as he felt the head of the cock push past the tight ring. It felt so damn good. He knew that some people didn't like how the initial act of penetration felt, but he loved the feeling of being filled. He liked the intrusion and he knew it could only get better. And Zack felt wonderful pressing in. He pulled out slightly and then back in again. He thrust his hips forward as Zack was taking too long to fill him. "I'm not a puss," Reno panted. "Get on with it."

As much as he appreciated the fact that Zack was trying to be gentle, he didn't want to be gentle. He wanted Zack all the way in and he wanted it now.

Zack grunted and thrust forward harder than he had before and he hit the spot that made Reno see stars. Reno reached forward and tried to grab hold of Zack's shoulder. His initial grab missed, and he ran his hands down the toned chest and belly as Zack pumped into him with slow and deliberate movements. He reached up again and was able to grab hold of Zack's shoulder. He panted as Zack hit that spot inside him again. He reached for his other shoulder getting a firm grip as he pulled himself up so that he was now sitting in Zack's lap.

It changed how Zack felt, and it felt so deep. It was perfect, and it took him a moment to take in a breath. When he let it out, he heard himself release a sensual groan.

Zack grunted and wrapped his arms around him. Reno smashed his mouth against Zack's and threaded his hands through his hair. Reno pushed his tongue into his mouth and wrestled with his. He adjusted to the position as they kissed, and he ran his hand up and down the tight muscles of the SOLDIER's back until he stopped at Zack's tight ass and he gave him a squeeze.

Zack pulled out of the kiss and let out a low growl. "Damn it, Reno," Zack whispered and thrust shallowly. Zack was holding himself back and Reno could feel it in the tension of his tight muscles. Zack was pure power and he was sitting on top of him.

Reno kissed down Zack's jaw and neck. He felt so full and stretched and he was ready for Zack to move. But Zack seemed hesitant, so Reno decided that he would take control. Reno rocked forward and that mystical spot inside him was hit, causing him to give out a gasp of pleasure. The position was perfect; he raised himself slightly and then lowered again with a rocking motion. He could hear Zack's breath quicken against his ear and he felt the SOLDIER's hands run over his back and cup his bottom with an affectionate squeeze.

This was absolutely everything that he liked when he was having sex and it was even better that it was Zack that he was riding.

"You okay?" Zack whispered.

"Move," Reno said and rocked forward again. The first couple of movements were out of sync and Zack pushed into him hard. He didn't object to the treatment, but he knew that he was going to be sore later. They soon found their rhythm and Reno found himself bouncing in Zack's lap. Zack was controlling the movements with the one hand on his hip and the other arm around across the middle of his back.

Zack let out a small gasp and thrust harshly into him before going back to the rhythm. "Damn it," Zack uttered. Reno didn't realize he had closed his eyes and when he opened them, he saw Zack looking intently at something beside them.

Reno followed Zack's gaze and saw Cloud kneeling on the edge of the bed and he had his dick firmly in his hand. Cloud looked magnificent stroking himself with a deep flush on his face.

"Damn it," Reno echoed and it was his turn to break their rhythm.

 _~how could these guys be so hot?~_

It was so much and so wonderful and he was part of it. He arched his back and Zack held him in place. He wasn't going to last much longer. His own cock was leaking heavily between their warm thrusting bodies. He was enthralled how it felt to have his dick rubbing against Zack's stomach. Just the sight of the blond bombshell unashamedly stoking himself at what they were doing nearly broke him.

Cloud made a small gasp. Zack groaned and he turned to see Cloud erupting in his hand. He looked like some sort of divine angel with his flushed cheeks and and tense muscles. Cloud's blue eyes were still focusing on him as he panted slowly and his whole body shook with the orgasm that he had given himself.

It was enough to send him off the edge. He cried out wordlessly. The second orgasm that he had was more intense than his first as Zack continued to pump into him. He felt his own warm fluids hitting his body. He thought he heard Zack say 'Damn it' again as his gripped increased and he found himself nearly being crushed by the other man's embrace. He could feel him pulsing inside him and his body shaking.

 _~fuck~_

He came down slowly from the rush and with Zack panting loudly in his ear. "That was good."

Reno nodded and tried to catch his breath. He wanted to stay nestled in Zack's lap for a little longer but he was also getting a little uncomfortable with the stickiness that was between their bodies. Zack moved him gently down in the center of the bed.

The movement caused Zack to slip out of him and Reno groaned at the feeling of loss. He knew he had a silly grin on his face and he doubted he would be able to get it off his face for a long time.

Zack chuckled and gave him a quick kiss.

He blinked and looked for Cloud and saw that he wasn't in the room anymore. He was about to ask where Cloud had gone when he saw the naked young man walk back into the bedroom with a washcloth.

"Wasn't really prepared for this," Cloud said as he collapsed on the bed.

Zack chuckled as he rolled to the side so he could remove the condom off his satisfied member and throw it in the nearby garbage. Reno reached for the cloth, but Cloud shook his head as he ran it over his chest and belly. It warmed him with the tenderness that Cloud was giving him as he wiped him down and then handed the cloth to Zack. He was treated to a lazy kiss from Cloud before the blond nuzzled beside him, rested his head on his shoulder and wrapped himself around him. Zack then followed suit and pressed against him.

Reno had never been more content. He pushed back all the thoughts that this was too good to be true. He didn't want it to be that way.

He looked over to Zack. "Can we do this again?" he whispered. Reno knew there was a chance that this was the only time that this was going to happen. He hoped that it could and was grateful that they allowed him to be part of what they were. He wanted to belong, and belonging to the two men would be better than anything he had ever thought could happen.

He wanted to have this comfortable and sexiest arrangement again. Zack ran his hand over his chest to then rest his hand on Cloud's arm. Cloud was already asleep and snoring slightly.

Zack sighed against his ear that sent new shivers running down Reno's spine. "I would like that."

Reno ran his hand down Zack's back and felt his chest hurt a bit. They were going to let him into their relationship. He didn't know how to vocalize what he wanted to say. A 'thank you' sounded lame but that was what he wanted to say. He hoped that when they woke, they wouldn't change their minds.

Zack's hand moved to his stomach and patted it gently before he put his hand back on Cloud's arm. "Go to sleep." His voice was thick with sleep.

Reno closed his eyes and as he felt the men around him take slow steady breaths. He started to smile. He knew the grin probably looked moronic but he didn't care. He was happy for the moment and he couldn't worry about what would happen next. He soon fell asleep from the exhausting activities.


	51. Saturday Afternoon

Rufus looked pale and angry. He was standing by the window staring out on the city of Midgar. Tseng noted the tension in the Vice-President since he walked in and he was noticeably distracted. It was an odd sight to see Rufus wearing his runners with his business suit; he was never one to mix his casual and professional attire.

Dark Nation was sleeping beside his desk, ignoring her agitated owner who had been pacing moments ago.

"You wanted to talk with me, sir?" Tseng said. "If you're distracted, maybe you need to clear your thoughts and call me when you are coherent?"

He did not like to waste his time, even if it was Rufus that was demanding it. He had a schedule to keep despite the fact that it was Saturday and should by all rights not be working today; he had things to do.

"Have you heard from Reno today?" Rufus asked.

"No, sir." Tseng knew where this was going and refrained from rolling his eyes with great effort. Rufus was acting like how he did when he 'lost control' of Genesis. "He has the weekend off and I do not need him for any duties until Monday."

"So you haven't heard from him."

"No, sir."

Rufus turned back from the window with a tightly clenched jaw.

"Is there another reason you called me?" Tseng wanted to cut this meeting short before he said something that he would regret. He was still not happy with him pursuing Reno in any sort of relationship and it was out of his control to stop it. But it was in his control to make it as difficult as possible.

"Yes," Rufus said and went to his desk. He grabbed a stack of papers and held it out to him. "Reeve and I completed these this morning so you can file them accordingly."

Tseng took the papers knowing that Rufus was lying. Reeve was on a trip to Mideel, as he understood it, and had been gone for a week. Tseng was seldom mistaken on the schedules of the executives.

He looked over at the papers and saw Reeve's signature but knew it was Rufus forging it. It wasn't the first time that Rufus had done so to get things completed. He didn't understand why Reeve allowed it but did not question it as it usually was for the best interest of the company and of Reeve.

It was something that he had kept secret for Rufus. It was one of the many things he did for the man, even though it was usually against his father's wishes.

"I will make sure that these are taken care of," Tseng said and with a small bow went to leave.

"He doesn't have his cell phone on him," Rufus blurted. "Isn't that against the Turk policy?" He turned violently from the window.

Tseng turned toward Rufus and tried to keep the threatening smirk off his face. "He is on weekend leave, sir," Tseng said curtly. "He is not required to answer his phone until Monday."

That was a lie. He required all his Turks to carry phones at all times, but they were only required to answer if it was him calling. It was rare that any of them to be without their phone. He would reprimand Reno later for the lack of answering his phone and forcing him to deal with a frustrated Rufus. Reno was the only one that ever had issues with his phone, but it was usually because he didn't feel like answering it.

Rufus' teeth clenched tight and his hands went into fists. "Then where is he!" Rufus nearly yelled. He pointed to his computer. "I lost track on the surveillance videos."

Dark Nation growled at her resting place on the floor and opened up one of her eyes at the yelling tone. She was obviously not impressed at being awakened from her nap.

 _~stalking again~_

It was the same way that he found out about Sephiroth and Genesis - snooping through the videos. He had been forced to watch with a seething Rufus the scene where Genesis cornered Sephiroth in the First Class lounge and the two SOLDIERs started to play tonsil hockey.

He had to deal with a furious Rufus who was demanding to know how that had happened. Tseng had been pleased to tell Rufus, "That is what you get for teasing."

Rufus wouldn't talk to him for weeks. He knew the relationship continued but the dynamic changed since Genesis started his rather tortuous relationship with Sephiroth. Rufus somehow still had a hold of the Red General that Tseng didn't understand or care to understand.

"He's good at avoiding surveillance," Tseng said simply by his position at the door. Reno was the best at that when he put an effort into it. Tseng actually used it as a test for promoting a Turk to the electronic surveillance team. If they could follow Reno for a day, when he was trying not to be seen, they were given a promotion.

Rufus threw himself in his chair, almost like a child throwing a temper tantrum. It would have been humorous had it not been his boss and Vice-President doing the immature act. He had hoped that the boy was beyond that, but obviously he was not.

 _~ bratty~_

Rufus snorted. "I need lunch," he blurted as he slouched in the chair and tapped at his keyboard, "and Dark Nation will need something." Rufus didn't look up from whatever was captivating him on the screen. "She hardly ate any of her breakfast and she is bound to be hungry."

Tseng refrained from sighing.

 _~I'm not an errand boy~_

"I will have something delivered," Tseng said simply and turned and left the room before he would have to listen to a full-out pout from the man.

He quickly slipped out and walked to his office. He knew that most likely the redhead had spent some time with Sephiroth. He was not pleased with this outcome if it was where he had spent the night.

He hoped that Reno had gotten whatever was in his system out with his romp and that it would be the end of it.

He couldn't stop a relationship with SOLDIER, but he strongly recommended that he end it. Turks and SOLDIERs did not belong together.

 _~quit fooling yourself~_

He shook his head and pushed the old thoughts away.

 _~no sense dwelling on the past~_

He went into his office and placed the papers in his inbox and then dialled Reno's phone. He wasn't expecting an answer, but Reno could have been just ignoring Rufus' number after all. Reno had always been the worst at answering his phone.

"Redheaded pest's phone!"

He blinked at the woman's voice on the other end of the phone. He checked his display to make sure he dialled the number correctly.

"Hello?"

"Cissnei?" he asked. "Why do you have Reno's phone?"

"Tseng!" She sounded startled and then started to chuckle. "You need to talk to Reno about the names he programs into his phone."

He frowned. He would deal with that other issue later. "Answer my question, Cissnei."

"Well, it's complicated," she said and gave another chuckle.

"Make it clear," he demanded.

"O-okay, sir," she said, sounding slightly nervous. "Rude and I were going to grab some late lunch. We were going to check on Reno to see if he wanted to join us. Zack was looking for him last night and we hadn't been able to get a hold of him. So, we were heading to his place when we ran into Sephiroth." Her voice was more hushed at the saying of the General's name. "He handed Rude Reno's keycard and phone. "

"Pardon?"

"I know," she said. They are still talking and I'm not going to get between those two. They are having a pissing contest right now," Cissnei said. "Do you know what happened?"

Tseng gritted his teeth. "No, I do not know what happened." Tseng refrained from wanting to panic; this was not what he was expecting from this phone call. "That is why I am trying to phone Reno. You still haven't sufficiently explained what occurred."

"Can you hold on for a second here? Sephiroth's just leaving."

 _~Sephiroth was there?~_

"Who are you talking to?" Tseng could hear Rude ask and he heard the phone transfer hands before Cissnei explain to him.

"Reno?"

"No, it's Tseng." He could hear Rude make a small sound that resembled a stifled groan.

"Explain to me why Reno is not the one answering the phone?" Tseng asked sharply. This situation was not at all what he was expecting.

"He does not have it," Rude said.

~Rude could be so obvious at times~

"That, I'm aware of, Rude." Tseng clenched his teeth. He did not want to worry about a missing Turk. "I need an explanation that is more appropriate than that."

He could hear Cissnei say something. "Hold on, sir," Rude said. He heard the rustling of fabric and then their voices discussing something. He was thinking of commanding them to come to his office.

"We're sending you a picture, sir," Rude said, "Just a moment."

 _~why would I want to see a picture?~_

He looked to his cell phone and heard it beep. He picked it up and looked at the picture that was there. He nearly dropped his phone.

He was not expecting that at all. He recognized Reno immediately - there was no mistaking that brilliant red hair of his. The other man took him a moment. "Is that Strife?" he said more out of shock than anything else.

"I believe it is, sir," Rude said.

"When was this taken?"

"It appears like last night," Rude said. Cissnei was saying something that Tseng couldn't make out. "The date," there was disdain in that word, "with Sephiroth," even more hate in his voice than before, "did not go as planned."

 _~that I can see~_

The picture of Reno kissing the young blond told him that they both had been drunk when it was taken - Reno, very much so. He knew Reno liked to drink his troubles away. It was one of the things he wished he would stop doing, but he usually recovered quickly at least.

"What did Sephiroth say to you?"

"He handed Cissnei the phone and key and was going to walk out," Rude said. "I couldn't get much out of him. He won't be bothering Reno again, sir."

Tseng wanted Rude to elaborate further, but he refrained from asking. The man was not good at explaining things, but from his tone, Tseng was pretty sure Rude must have had a discussion with Sephiroth.

He would get the information out of him later.

"That is good to hear, but that still doesn't explain why Reno was kissing Strife in this picture," Tseng said. "You need to find out where Reno is."

"Yes, sir," Rude said and hung up the phone.

Tseng leaned back in his chair and looked at the picture of Reno kissing Strife. He sighed deeply. It was better than Sephiroth or Rufus, but there were pieces missing from the puzzle.

He placed his cell phone open on the table.

His office phone rang. He looked at it and saw that it was Rufus' number. He let out a sigh so that he wouldn't do it when he answered the phone.

He knew that he would be demanding his food.

"Dark Nation is getting antsy! Did you order the food?"

"Of course, sir," Tseng said.

"Good."

Tseng hung up the phone and muttered, "Doesn't anyone say goodbye anymore?"

* * *

Sephiroth felt like he had just been scolded and he had  by the most unassuming Turk that he had ever had encountered. The black man hardly had ever said a word to him in any other situation and yet, he got a lecture.

The other problem was the fact was that he felt like he deserved it.

The Turk had stood in his way as he tried to exit. He was only planning on dropping the phone and card off on Reno's desk. He had not planned on running into anyone.

At first he was grateful that it was just Cissnei. She did look at him with large eyes and the look of shock. He did not want to explain himself to anyone for his actions the night before. He had not been able to sleep as it was.

His mind had been a race of thoughts throughout the night between Genesis and Reno. He cursed himself for missing Genesis so much. He didn't realize how much Genesis had meant to him.

 _~was I just using Reno?~_

He didn't know how to answer that. They were not even alike and yet 

"Stay away from Reno," Rude had said and looked over his glasses at him to reveal his chocolate-coloured eyes. "He doesn't need to deal with your shit."

He didn't know how to respond to that. He ruined what little he could have had at another chance of happiness.

 _~not to screw up like you did with Genesis~_

But it was too late. He couldn't appreciate the man that had been in his bed. What did he even see in Reno? What did Reno see in him?

Of course when he started to thinking about it, there was a lot of aspects of the redhead that he would and could have liked. The list grew and he knew that he was thinking of Reno as more than just a warm body or a replacement.

 _~no one can replace Genesis~_

He was witty and not afraid to say what was on his mind. He was lanky and versatile in any situation. He had been enjoying the feel of his smooth skin beneath his hand. How his breath had hitched when he played with his tongue 

He found his way back to his apartment before he could run into anyone else. He had already cleaned up the mess from the night before; there was no evidence left that he had tried to seduce the redhead.

There was no evidence that any of the redheads were ever in his apartment.

He had disposed of anything and everything that had been any significance of Genesis, even though he could still see him sitting on the couch with a crooked smile on his face, calling to him to join - seducing him. He could see Genesis, standing in a pair of snug jeans looking out the window down onto Midgar, grumbling about how the view was much better than the one from his apartment.

He knew he was screwed up and his mind was a mess. He hadn't slept and he knew that that always put him in a bad place. That was one thing he was hoping that he could have with Reno again. He had always slept well when Genesis spent the night. It was always nice to wake up with a warm body beside him, even if it was the middle of the night. He would sleep for more than two hours in a row when there was someone that he trusted at his side.

Would he have been able to trust Reno like he had once trusted Genesis?

 _~misplaced trust~_

He knew he shouldn't take any of this seriously.

"Why was I even trying?" he mumbled to himself. He was always a failure at interacting with others. It was better to be alone and he should have understood that by now.

He was destined to be alone and that was all what there was to it.

He had no family and his friends had left him. Angeal and Genesis 

 _~lover~_

 left him to descend into their own madness.

He wondered if he would follow them. It wasn't the first time that he had thought of this. He had thought of leaving, but could he join Genesis? He was not sure if he could or if they would still be at odds.

Sephiroth found himself looking out his window. During the day, the sight was hardly stunning. Midgar was dirty and grimy, and the light of day showed how unclean everything really was. But at night was when Midgar shone. That was when Genesis would press his forehead against the glass and look down at the city that seemed quite magical with the glow of the reactors to illuminate it.

Genesis called it the 'Goddess Tears' trying to wash the stain that man had thrust upon her. He never really paid much attention to the poetic words that Genesis would spout. He had been more concerned with how Genesis looked and felt at that moment than what he was saying.

It wasn't the first time that he thought that if only he had paid a bit more attention to what Genesis was trying to say to him, how different things could have been if he had put more effort into it.

The grimy vision of the metal city was an image that depressed and upset him. He shook himself and pulled himself from the window and went to his couch where he collapsed with a dramatic sigh that would have made Genesis proud.

He lay there for an hour, willing the thoughts to stop whirling in his head but they were becoming vicious and mocking of him.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep with his thoughts racing as they were. He picked up his phone and dialled a number that he hated to dial.

The ring on the other end of the phone always sounded different when he dialled this number. He knew that it actually wasn't different, but the voice that picked up on the other end was.

"Medical research," an overly cheerful voice answered.

He licked his lips and spoke slowly, "Hojo, please."

"He's in a meeting. May I take a message, sir?"

He sighed. Even the doctor wasn't available to him. "Tell him Sephiroth called."

"Right away, sir."

Sephiroth hung up; he knew that Hojo would call him shortly. Hopefully he wouldn't need to go through a whole medical exam to get an injection to sleep.

~and perchance not to dream~

* * *

There was nothing unusual in Reno's apartment besides the fact that Reno wasn't there and there were three other Turks standing in the living room. Tseng was always amazed at how clean he kept it despite the fact that he usually was so sloppily dressed and his desk was a disaster of paperwork. The place was sparse of furniture and he had never bothered to get the walls painted or do anything to decorate the small apartment. Tseng was also certain that most of the furniture was begged, borrowed or taken from the slums. He doubted that anything but his bed was new when he had moved it.

But Reno kept his personal mail in a neat pile. The kitchen counter was clear of dishes, but then Reno was not known to be much of a cook. He would have to push Reno to work on his organization at work as well as his apartment was.

He looked towards the other two Turks in the room and held out his hand.

Rude dutifully handed over Reno's phone as they seemed to be done scanning the apartment.

Cissnei talked lowly as she gave him what information they had and it was pretty thin. "We knew that Reno had a date," she began, "We assumed it was with Sephiroth." She started to grin but he turned his gaze quickly on her and that smile left her lips. She cleared her throat and continued, "Zack was looking for him and we didn't know why until we saw the picture of Cloud locking lips with Reno. Zack must be choked!"

He raised an eyebrow. "And why would Zack be upset?"

"He's been dating Cloud for months," Cissnei said and looked like she was refraining from rolling her eyes. "They have been keeping it quiet but it's so obvious."

Tseng waved his hand for her to continue talking. That information did put a new spin on things and he tried not to let it bother him.

"We got a call from Zack looking for Reno around eleven," Cissnei said and looked annoyed at the fact.

Tseng couldn't help but look over at Rude who adjusted his sunglasses. He looked back over to Cissnei.

"We tried calling him but it's not like it's the first time that Reno hasn't answered his phone ... so we waited until morning to try to find him. When we went to the office, it was empty - not that we expected him to be working  but when Sephiroth arrived with his phone was a bit startling. We still don't know where he is yet though."

Tseng looked at the phone and flipped it open. "What other information do you have?" He frowned as he looked at the received and missed call list. He continued to frown as he tried to decipher who they were really from. Tseng didn't much care for the moniker he was given.

 _~I really need to talk to Reno about the names he uses in his call list~_

"We have nothing more," Cissnei said. "I don't know if he is with Cloud or if Zack killed him. We are a bit hesitant to knock on that door if they are having a lovers' spat over this."

Tseng nodded.

"If you hear from Reno, you call me first." Tseng scrolled down the list. There were a few calls from whom he assumed was Zack by the moniker, 'Fair Prince' as well and the last one from himself with the denotation that he did not approve of.

Rude nodded. "I will take care of this situation."

 _~before Rufus does~_

He left Reno's apartment and contemplated knocking on Zack's door. He knew Zack's mannerisms well enough to know that he would be upset over the whole thing and maybe even threaten to throw Reno off the balcony, but Zack's temper was always quick to cool.

He would rather have Reno in Zack's clutches than Rufus' at the moment.  


* * *

The familiar smells assaulted him that caused him to wrinkle his nose, but there was an old and comforting familiarity in it combined with the stark white lights and the strange requirements for silence that was in the labratories.

But Sephiroth hated everything about the labs. He avoided them at all cost usually, but now he needed the odd and old familiarity he had with the sounds, lights and smells.

He lay on the familiar cot that he had lain on for every one of his physicals. He could feel the familiar dip in the table and it seemed that they had not upgraded the padding since his last visit.

He looked around at the stark, familiar walls of the room. It was only populated by a cart that contained an array of syringes. He was grateful that the room wasn't full of beeping machines or that he wasn't being attacked with tubes.

The walls were bare at his request. As a child, he remembered a room very similar to this, but the walls had some pictures of kittens and puppies. They were supposed to distract him from the pain but it made him remember that the only pets that he was ever allowed were the monsters that were in the cages around him. He did not want to be teased with the thoughts of comfort.

The room was white  clinical white. It hurt his eyes at how white the room was. It was one of the reasons that he had his apartment in warm, dark tones. He hated the whiteness because it meant that everything was controlled by someone else.

He didn't ever want to be controlled by another again. He broke free of the labs and had his freedom now, even if he still needed them from time to time. But it was on his terms, not theirs.

He let his eyes close and he listened to the only sound in the room. When there were no machines around, there were only two steady sounds - his breathing and the low hum of the ventilation system. They still hadn't fixed the rattle that was in the northern vent. He doubted anyone else could hear it.

The room's smells were not as strong as he remembered, or maybe he was just used to it. He wondered for a moment if the room was actually only for him, as Hojo complained about the expense of the room. He doubted his claims, as it did not make sense that it was not used for the other SOLDIER physicals. It still had a heavy antiseptic smell that made him almost instantly lose his appetite with heavy traces of mako. That part of the smell had not lessoned in the least.

He allowed the near-sensory deprivation to lull him into a soothing and slow thought process.

 _~that was excluding the redheads~_

It helped that Hojo had already given him an injection of drugs that were supposed to quiet him and it seemed to be working well enough.

He wished he would have been able to sleep without thinking of any of the redheads that were haunting his waking and sleeping thoughts. They were still on his mind and he wished Hojo had given him something to knock him out.

For once he didn't care that he was in the labs. He didn't care that Hojo was most likely videotaping everything right now. He knew that most of his childhood was recorded and only had the urge to look at it once.

After seeing a video of himself being tutored he had no desire to see the rest of his childhood.

 _~it was boring and seemed of no interest. No wonder I don't remember it~_

"How is the first dose affecting you?"

That voice. He hated that voice more than any other in the world. He opened his eyes to see the slightly hunched figure of Hojo now standing by the tray. He never changed. He always wore that white lab coat over his wrinkly grey or black suit. His glasses were always sliding down his nose and in need of being pushed up; and his black, shiny hair was always pulled back in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"Okay," he slurred.

"Are you going to tell me why you are distressed enough to call me?" Hojo asked as he rearranged the syringes on the table.

The question caused him to frown. He just wanted to forget and Hojo wanted him to remember. He turned his head away.

Hojo hummed. "In any event, you are showing signs of fatigue and that is no way for an elite SOLDIER such as yourself to become."

 _~at least he didn't call me his subject again~_

He didn't want to think about his lost friends 

 _~and lovers~_

 again. "I just need something to help me sleep. If I need psychoanalysis I will call Dr. Arolin," Sephiroth said sternly.

Hojo laughed and Sephiroth sneered at the sound. It was his most hated sound in the world. "As you wish."

He watched as Hojo walked over with another needle and started to prep the sight on his arm for where he was going to give him another injection.

"This will ensure that you sleep."

"That is all that I asked of you," Sephiroth mumbled as he felt the needle slide into his vein and was grateful to feel the effects of the injection almost immediately.

Sleep would help him clear his head so that he could deal with all the shit that was going on in his life, and maybe help to look at things with a new light instead of the dark that kept intruding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are still too many damn questions aren't there?
> 
> Rufus can really be a brat at times, eh? I love bratty Rufus. Actually, I love any type of Rufus, but that is besides the point.
> 
> *sigh* Unoriginal title and short chapter. We haven't heard from these warlords for a little while and then they turned all emo! I mean, Sephiroth turning to Hojo is a pretty big thing to do for some clinical comfort.
> 
> Well, at least Reno is happy… right?
> 
> Dr. Arolin is the doctor from Ziggy's story Malady, so she really belongs to her but I am borrowing her for this little part of the story. .


	52. Saturday Late Afternoon

Cloud felt the bed move and he nuzzled closer to the warm body that was still in bed beside him.  The blankets shifted around him and let out some of that warmth.

He opened his eyes and was greeted by a shock of red hair instead of the black that he was used to seeing.

"Hello?"

He looked over to see Zack standing naked with his back to the bed.  He was speaking in a hushed whisper into a phone.  He was going to complain about the fact that he was on a phone, but the view of his ass was just all too nice to say anything.  Plus, it wasn't like they were doing anything that it would interrupt.  They had been sleeping, after all.

"Oh, yeah.  Sorry about that," Zack said and gave a nervous chuckle, then rubbed the back of his head.  The stretch of his muscles on his back was a wonderful sight.  "I suppose you need your phone back."

There was a small pause.  "Nothing bad happened.  No, no, he's fine.  Don't worry about him."  Again Zack paused.  "Yeah.  Sure.  Bye."

Cloud blinked and wondered who he was talking to as Zack flipped the phone shut.  "Who was that?" he asked. Zack turned towards around and gave him a sexy smile.

 _~was there a single poise of his that wasn't sexy?~_

"Well, I kinda took John's phone last night," Zack said as he held up the phone, and Cloud indeed recognized it as John's.  John had a red paint mark on his to keep Joseph from claiming that it was his since they had the same model.

"Why?"  Cloud gave him a confused look.

"It has the picture of your kiss with Reno," Zack said as he rolled the phone in his hands.  "I kinda overreacted when I first saw it."

"I'd like a copy of that picture, yo," Reno mumbled but didn't open his eyes.  Cloud chuckled at the redhead and ran a hand down his side.

"You would," Zack said, scoffing.  "I should return his phone though."  

"Now?" Cloud protested and lifted himself up on his elbows.  He was feeling still a bit lightheaded.  He wasn't sure if it was because of the booze, the amazing sex or that Reno was still nestled beside him.  The only thing that would make it better was if Zack would crawl back into bed with them.  

"I'll be back soon," Zack said with a chuckle as he leaned over, and they enjoyed a leisurely kiss together.  Cloud reached up and tried to pull him down but Reno started to grumble about letting the warmth out of the blankets.

Zack didn't seem upset at the disruption of the kiss.   He leaned over and placed one on the back of Reno's neck and ran his hand down his back, causing the redhead to squirm.

"Bring back some food, yo," Reno said as he made a dramatic stretch and yawn.  Cloud quickly found himself thrown underneath Reno's arm and pinned back to the bed.  "Somethin' good, too."

Cloud chuckled and looked up at Zack and was pleased to see that he had an amused look on his face.  He couldn't see the jealousy that was there before.  

 _~after what happened, he shouldn't be~_

"Well, it's after lunch already.  How about I pick up burgers?"  Zack said as he moved away from the bed and started to put on some clothes.

Reno groaned and shook his head.  "Good, not greasy."

Cloud frowned. "But I like greasy burgers."

"How about Wutaian?" Zack said.

Reno groaned.  "Just pick me up a grilled chicken burger, yo.  I'm not in the mood for Wutaian."   Reno started to stroke Cloud's arm gently.

Cloud frowned a bit.  Wutaian sounded good, and normally Reno liked it, but one could not argue with the hangover stomach.  "A chicken burger for me too," Cloud said as he placed his hand on Reno.   "And a large order of extra salty fries."

Reno grumbled about how that was so gross and made sure that he wanted a salad with his.

"Got it," Zack said and started to move around the room.  "Alright.  I'll return John's phone and then I'll pick up some food.  Any other errands you two want me to run while I'm out?" Zack said as he pulled on a pair of jeans that moulded to his body perfectly.  

Cloud watched as Zack dressed in a simple light-grey button-front shirt and a pair of black socks.  He moved around the room with such grace and perfection.  Cloud knew he was staring but didn't care.

Zack was gorgeous.  There was no denying that the man was beautiful, even as he was getting dressed and moving effortlessly around the room.

"Cloud?"

He blinked and Reno chuckled beside him.  

Zack had an amused look as he ran a hand through his hair.  "I was asking if you wanted anything else."

"Oh?"  He felt like he missed something, and between Zack and Reno's chuckling, he was pretty sure that he had.

"I'll be back in no time," Zack said as he reached his hand forward. "Go back to sleep, sleepyhead."  

Cloud shook off the hand that was ruffling his hair and buried his face into Reno's back.  He wrapped his arms tightly around the man that was with him in the bed.  "Not sleepy," he protested, even though the tone of his voice betrayed him.  The two men chuckled at him and he found arms around him and the other giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"I won't be long," Zack said and then leaned over to Reno and gave him a kiss as well, this time on the lips.

 _~so hot~_

He knew he was smiling and it was most likely a stupid, goofy smile, but he didn't care.  He was happy, even if Zack had to leave for the moment.  Zack was going to bring back food and then they could get some more rest together.

 _~well, maybe a little more than rest~_

Zack gave him a knowing smile as he left the bedroom with the phone in hand.  Cloud nuzzled and pressed his body against the warmth of the man that remained.

"He didn't look jealous or anythin', did he?" Reno asked after a moment.

"Who?"

"Zack."

"Not to me," Cloud said.  "He looked happy."

Reno chuckled.  "You look like the cat's meow, yo."  Reno stroked his hands through his hair.  "Never would've thought ya two'd let me in."

"It's like a dream, but we already had a conversation about that," Cloud said.  "I think we can get used to sharing."

 _~he knew he could~_

Reno sighed dramatically and tugged at the blankets to make a nest again.  "I guess we still do have to talk though, huh?"

Cloud nodded.  "Yeah, I guess we do."  Cloud was aware that there was still some information missing that Reno needed to tell them.  "You still have to tell us who that other guy was that's hunting you.  You never did say."

Reno chuckled.  "He doesn't matter anymore.  He did nothin' but use me as a pawn for his own sick games, yo."

Cloud frowned.  "That's horrible.  How can you say that so lightly?"

Cloud felt Reno run his hands through his hair again,and they looked at each other in the eyes.  "Yo, ya don't need to worry 'bout that.  I can handle it," Reno said and his voice was so full of confidence that Cloud had to believe him.  "My biggest problem now is gonna be how to keep two SOLDIERs with hyperactive sex drives happy."

Cloud grunted.  "I'm not a SOLDIER yet."

"Yo, ya will be."

The simple statement from Reno was enough to set him into a wild grin and give him a kiss.  He rolled on top of the redhead and started to smother him with more kisses across his face, his neck and his throat.  Reno laughed and struggled underneath him, but not really fighting him all that hard.

Cloud found himself underneath Reno just as quickly and the short pecks soon became a deep, sensual kiss.  Hands tugged firmly on his hair and he felt the pressure of Reno's arousal pressing against his thigh.  He allowed himself to be taken away with the sensation of Reno dominating him with the kiss and pressing his warm body against his.

Reno stopped the kiss and stared down at him.  "We should maybe wait 'til Zack gets back.  We don't want 'im to get mad at us for startin' somethin' without 'im," Reno whispered but his hands kept wandering.

"We can still cuddle, right?" Cloud asked as he wrapped his arms around his slender waist and held him close.

Reno moved down for another kiss.  "I wouldn't have it any other way."

They moved into more comfortable positions so that they were nestled against each other, and Cloud had his head resting against Reno's chest.  They let their hands roam in a calming manner rather than sensual.

The only thing missing was Zack.

Cloud was just about asleep again when he heard a loud grumbling sound.

It woke him up and it took him a moment to realize what it was.

"Sorry, yo.  I get hungry after drinkin' and sex," Reno mumbled.  Cloud smirked against his chest and rubbed his hand over Reno's grumbling stomach.  He was getting hungry too for more than just the food that Zack promised to bring back.

"Well, we'll make sure you are well fed in that regards," Cloud said.  He heard Reno say something but he didn't hear what it was.  He felt the strong arms around him.  They were different than Zack's, but no less comforting as he was lulled back to sleep.

* * *

John was a little worried about Zack coming to return his phone.  He saw the look on Zack's face as he left and heard all the stories about how Zack had gone into the bar hunting for Cloud and Reno.

Well, he had assumed that he was hunting for them since he knew why Zack was so upset.

There was a groan that emerged from the nearby cot.  He had no sympathy whatsoever for Joseph.  He had been returned to his cot at noon.  He was cleaned and in new clothes but obviously still hung over.  Dean had brought him back with a large smile on his face and carefully laid the drunken, blue-haired fool on his cot.

John sighed as he looked at the door waiting for Zack to arrive.  He was still sitting with his injured knee elevated.  He wished he hadn't injured it or that they let him use Cure.  If he had been able to move properly, he would have been able to prevent the whole incident from happening ... or from at least from getting out of hand.

He wanted to go over and beat Joseph with his crutch, but refrained.  He would get the pest back later.

He was really worried about Cloud.  Calling his own phone took a lot of courage for him to do so.  He was afraid of what would happen when it was answered.  Zack was a First Class SOLDIER and they have been known to have tempers.

He had seen Zack angry when he left and his eyes glowed with fury as he had stormed out with such purpose; it had scared him.  He was worried about Cloud more than Reno.  Reno was a Turk and could take care of himself.  

A few of the bunk mates walked by and laughed at Joseph.  "Did he spend all his winnings?" one asked.

John was pretty sure that the pest had.

He wanted to kick his cot to make sure that his headache would last longer for all the trouble he had caused.

When the door opened and Zack walked in with a large smile on his face and waving the phone, he didn't know if he should be concerned.  He was not expecting Zack to be happy after the show of his anger when he took his phone.

"Heya," Zack said as he tossed the phone over.  He juggled it as he caught it.  "Sorry about taking it."  Zack sounded a bit sheepish and ran his hand through his hair.  "Got a little carried away, is all."

"So, is Cloud back at your place?" he asked.

Zack nodded.  "Yeah, he's still sleeping."

"You aren't mad at him?"

"We talked."

"Reno?  What about Reno?  Did you find him?"

"Reno's fine.  We had a talk too."

John couldn't help but worry.  "So you guys are all right and all.  You guys didn't break up again, did you?"

"No, we're still good," Zack said and gained a strange smile.  

John would have to talk to Cloud about that smile when he got back to the barracks.

"Are you sure?" He looked up at Zack.  He was not sure about the answers he was getting, and the anger he saw last night did not equal up.

"Don't you worry about it.  Even though I am a little unimpressed with the blue-haired freak over there," Zack said as he looked over to where Joseph was still sprawled on the bed.  "Why did he even think it was a good idea to send that picture out!?"

"He really thought Reno was dating Cloud," John said and chewed his lip, and was confused by the laughter that came out of Zack.

 _~I really need to talk to Cloud about this situation~_

"What time do you start surveillance duty?" Zack asked after he was done laughing.

"I got an hour," John said as he looked at the clock on his phone.

"Good!"  Zack said and clapped his hands together.  "I have to pick up food, so I will get you a burger too!  It is the least I could do for freaking you out like that."

"That's really not necessary "

"Nonsense," Zack said as he grabbed a nearby crutch and thrust it into his hand.  "Let's get moving.  I'm starving!"

John got out of bed as quickly as possible and he felt a little odd walking with a First Class SOLDIER who was opening the door for him and chatting with him about how his training was going, besides the injured leg.

Zack was a nice guy and he found that it was easy to open up to him.   He could see why Cloud adored him.  He understood why Cloud would get that dreamy look on his face when he was thinking about his boyfriend.

He found himself talking about his girlfriend and how he had hoped that she would marry him when he finally made it into SOLDIER, because he could afford to start a family then.

He hadn't even told Cloud or Joseph about that plan yet, because he was afraid that they would laugh at him.

"She must be special," Zack said as they walked into the burger joint.

 _~with Zack holding the door open for him again~_

"She is," he said and found himself blushing as Zack ordered three chicken burgers, a salad, and some fries with extra salt.

 _~the way Cloud likes them after he's been drinking~_

He asked him what he wanted and said that a regular burger would do and normal fries.

"You don't really have to pay for me," he protested as Zack pulled out his wallet.  He was a cadet but he still got a regular pay check and it felt awkward that Zack was paying for him.

"I stole your phone for a night.  Don't argue about it.  Keep that money for your girl," Zack said.   He quickly paid and they waited for the order to arrive as he asked a few more questions about John's girl, and he answered them.

As the food was placed in bags, Zack asked him which post he was stuck staring at the cameras for.  "Reactor 7," he said and Zack nodded.  "I know a short cut there and then I have to return this food to Cloud and Reno before they starve to death."

 _~Cloud AND Reno.  He did order three burgers and the only person I know that actually eats salad is Reno~_

He faltered in his step and nearly tripped over his own crutch as he looked over at Zack who suddenly had a flush on his face.  But he held the door open as though he had said nothing out of the ordinary.

 _~Cloud is so going to explain what happened~_

As they stepped outside Zack quickly changed the topic to the weather -- a quick and lame topic change that he allowed to happen.  He would corner Cloud for the information, as he was far less intimidating than a First Class SOLDIER.

"We can cut through here," Zack said as he used a clearance card to open a door that John didn't normally have access for when they finally reached the building.  Zack, again, held the door open for him.

~I'm beginning to feel like a girl~

They walked down the hall and Zack stole a couple of fries from his bag.  "This food smells so good," Zack groaned.  "I hope that the fries will be left by the time I get back to my place."

"Cloud can be vicious about his fries," John said, remembering getting slapped a couple times when he tried to steal the blond's fries.  He really didn't like losing his fries and was tenacious about it.

"I know," Zack said and looked as though he was going to say more, when someone called Zack's name behind them.

Zack turned.  "Tseng." He sounded surprised to see him.

Tseng made him nervous.  He was head of the Turks and he was always standing stiff as though he had a board running up his back, and he swore he had never seen the man's lips form anything but a frown.

He worked with him once and he was serious the whole time and everyone was so nervous.  The guy was wearing a suit in the jungle while everyone else was sweating like stuck pigs, while he stood there looking as cool as a cucumber and directed them all to do their jobs.

He was odd as hell and the made him uncomfortable.

Tseng gave him a glance and seemed to assess him in that look that made him very uncomfortable.  He moved to the side to allow Tseng to stand in front of Zack.

"What can I do for you?" Zack said.  He didn't seem to be bothered by Tseng's aura at all and stood there as casual as he had been with John.  

Tseng held out a phone and Zack took it with a confused look on his face.  "What is this?  I'm not missing a phone and I already returned John's."  

"It's Reno's," Tseng said.  "I am of the understanding that you know his whereabouts."

Zack's eyes grew wide.  "I kinda do, yeah," Zack said and reached out and took the phone.  Zack didn't seem to have any problems staring the Turk in the eyes.

 _~Tseng is the scariest Turk I have ever met~_

"Kinda?" Tseng said and tilted his head as the side and John couldn't believe that there appeared to be a smile on his face.

"Okay, so I know where he is.  Do you need him to report or something?" Zack said as he flipped open Reno's phone and started pressing buttons.

 _~Don't Turks' lock their phones?~_

"I would appreciate a call, as I do have something to discuss with him," Tseng said formally.

Zack rolled his eyes.  "Did he do something stupid last night?"

Tseng actually laughed and the board seemed to move from his back because he looked human for a change.  "You will be a better judge for that," Tseng said.  "I believe the first two pictures that are on the phone tell me what 'stupid' Reno was up to last night."

Zack didn't look at the pictures on the phone but slid it into his pocket.  "Well, you know Reno."

"I do," Tseng said and narrowed his eyes in a manner that startled John a bit.  He was starting to wonder if he should just get the hell out of there at the moment before Tseng got all Turk on Zack.  "And I also know you."

"Yeah?"

"I am assuming that you are no longer angry at him over his transgressions."  Tseng was standing firmly and very much ignoring John as if he wasn't there.

 _~Tseng can make anyone seem insignificant~_

"We had a long talk, yeah," Zack said and fidgeted and was looking a little uncomfortable under the dark stare of the head of the Turks.  "We're all good."

Tseng stood there with his head tilted slightly and his dark hair falling over a shoulder.  He usually saw the Wutaian with it in a ponytail; this was the first time that he had seen the man look remotely casual.

"Really.  It's all fine," Zack said.

Tseng just blinked once and continued to stare.

"I will get him to call you," Zack said, not backing down from Tseng or seeming more than just looking like he was embarrassed.  "And I will keep him out of trouble all weekend."

"That has yet to be seen," Tseng said and smiled.

 _~how does Zack make everyone smile?~_

Zack laughed.  "I'll make sure he gets his phone and I will keep him in line."

Tseng made a scoffing sound and started to walk away with a hand that patted the SOLDIER's shoulder briefly.  "That is another thing that has yet to be seen."  And the Turk was gone as silently as he had arrived.

Zack sighed and shook his head.  "Hey," he said sharply, "Don't look so nervous.  He's just a guy."

"But he's the head of the Turks," John said as they started to walk down the hall again.

"It's his job.  I know he's intimidating but he's still a decent guy," Zack said as he took another fry out of his bag of food.  "A little stiff, but you just need to get to know him, is all."

John found himself smiling at Zack and shaking his head.

"I think you are the only guy in the world that can be personable with people who are the scariest of Shin-Ra," John said.  It was why Zack was a legend.  He was the guy that everyone loved.

Even Tseng and Sephiroth.

"It's a knack," Zack said as they approached the room where John was going to spend the next six hours and not try to fall asleep watching the boring surveillance videos.

 _~I have enough to think about!~_

"Thanks for the food," John said as Zack opened the door for him.

 _~I still feel like a girl~_

"No prob," Zack said.  "I did go a little overboard and you don't need to worry about Cloud.  He's all good."

"And Reno too, eh?"  John added and then regretted it.  It was not his place to say anything 

 _~to Zack~_

 about his situation and it was just a hunch.  He was pretty sure something happened that would have Cloud coming back to the barracks with a silly grin on his face.

Zack's face darkened a bit and he thought he pushed things too far but then he heard a yell and someone scrambling from the room.    "Zack!"

He turned around to see Kunsel picking himself off the floor as if he fell out of the chair that was skittering across the floor.  "Zack," he called again, nearly falling on his face as he rushed to scramble to the door.

"Zack!" Kunsel yelled one last time and grabbed Zack's arms so that he nearly dropped the bag of food he was carrying.  "I've been trying to get a hold of you all day.  You got your phone off.  Where have you been?"

John had to take a step back or else he was pretty sure that Kunsel was going to knock him over.  He must have had the same concerns he had when he had called his own phone in search of Zack and Cloud.

"Easy, there," Zack said.  "You're going to make me drop all the food."  He sounded almost amused by his friend's concern.

"Well, I'm going to get to work.  Thanks for the food, Zack," he said as he moved around Kunsel who was already pushing Zack down the hall.  Kunsel was still babbling nonsense that John understood to deal with the pictures that Joseph had sent out last night.

Zack was trying to calm down the frantic Third Class SOLDIER, and the last he saw of the two was Zack thumping on Kunsel's helmet and telling him to shut up and listen to him.

Kunsel would be more forceful with the questions when it came to Zack.  He would be doing the same thing to Cloud when he got back to the barracks.


	53. The Talk

Cloud was damn cute when he was sleeping.

Reno had crawled out from beneath the still sleeping man; he made sure that the blond was wrapped in the blankets.  He watched as Cloud curled around a pillow and gave out a small snort before settling in again.

 _~damn adorable~_

He was not one to sleep in much and he had slept more than he usually did, even after a bender.  He had been comfortable in the bed between both the men, but he hadn't gone back to sleep when Zack left.  He allowed himself to remain in the bed for a little while longer than he normally allowed himself.

But his stomach had different ideas.  He was starving and craving some more coffee.

He found his pants as he left the bedroom and went to go get himself some of the black liquid gold.

 _~and Baileys if he still has some~_

He saw the pot that Zack used and saw that it was half full of rancid-looking coffee.  He poured that out and went on a search to make a new pot and was grateful during that search when he found the bottle of Baileys.

He started the pot and it started to make loud irritating sounds -- sputtering and groaning as it tried to make the precious black fluid.  He stared at the loud machine and made note that he was going to have to get Zack a new one if he was going to visit often.

 _~and I planned on visiting often~_

He didn't know why Zack still had this horrible pot.  Coffee was an important part of the day and this was not a good way to start it.

He found a piece of fruit from the fridge and munched on that as he waited for the coffee to finish.  He listened to the horrible gurgling of the pot and watched it fill with the liquid that he was craving as he prepared his mug with a dash of Bailey's.

He leaned against the counter and smiled.  He hadn't felt this light-hearted in a very long time, even with the fact that he would have to deal with some really crappy stuff once he left the apartment.  He would have to go back to the real world and deal with real issues.

 _~Rufus and Sephiroth~_

He was hoping that he could still have this after everything was said and done.

It was promising.  He wanted nothing more than to be with these two, but at the same time he knew that he could be just fucking things up.  After all, he was the third wheel and an intruder, even though he didn't feel like one at the moment.

The coffee maker made a horrible gurgling sound to announce that it was complete.   "'Bout time," he muttered to the inanimate machine.  He poured his cup and took a quick sip of the wonderful liquid.

 _~totally gonna get 'im a new machine~_

He wondered if he was feeling a little overconfident about the whole situation, but even as he tried to look at the negatives, he couldn't feel anything but relaxed and calm.

He took another deep sip and topped off his mug before he started to walk into the living room to sit down on the couch.  He leaned back and placed his feet on the coffee table, resting with the coffee in his lap.  He allowed his eyes to droop and a smile to cross his face.

~ _I can be happy like this~_

Reno looked over to the bedroom where Cloud lay, and he knew Cloud was happy too.  But he knew there was a lot that could go wrong.  Everything could fall apart as soon as he walked out the door.  He was going to avoid going out that door as long as possible,.

But he was happy right now.  He knew from experience that there were only brief moments where one could really be happy, and when those moments presented themselves, they had to be grabbed and taken advantage of and cherished.  He planned on doing all that ...

He took a deep drink of his coffee and smiled.

The door opened at that moment and Zack walked in.  He gave Reno a large smile and held up the bags.  "I got the food."

Reno returned the smile.  "Awesome.  I'm starvin'!"

Zack walked into the kitchen and pulled out plates.  "Cloud still sleeping?"

He nodded.  "He's curled up in a ball in the blankets right now," Reno said as he started to pull the food out of the bags.  "Yo, this is cold."

"You would not believe how many people wanted to have a 'talk' with me before I got back here.  If I knew that was the case, I would've made John hobble his way up here to get his phone back," Zack said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone.  "By the way, I ran into Tseng and he gave me this."

Reno tensed at hearing Tseng's name.  He was even more nervous about seeing his phone in Zack's hand.  "He wants you to call him."

"I bet he does," Reno said as he took the phone from Zack.  He was starting to feel that happiness slip out of his fingers.  "Was he tense?"

"Nah," Zack said as he sat on the counter.  "He was pretty laid back."

Reno raised his eyebrows at Zack.

"Well, relaxed for Tseng," Zack said as he popped a fry into his mouth.  "You know how he is.  He was a little worried about you."

"Uh-huh," Reno said as he opened his phone and looked at the missed calls list.  He saw Zack's, Rude's, Cissnei's and Tseng's were listed, as well as a couple of 'unknowns'.

 _~I wonder if that was Rufus~_

"He told me to keep you out of trouble," Zack said as he leaned forward.

"Trouble seems to find me, yo," Reno said as he closed the phone and stuffed it in his pocket.  He was not interested in talking to Tseng right now.  He opened up the plastic lid to his salad and tore open the dressing package.

"You're a trouble magnet," Zack said as he slid off the counter.  Reno tensed a bit but quickly relaxed as Zack reached around him and held him in a loose embrace, then rested his chin on his shoulder.  "I'll help you with that."

He leaned into the larger man and he loved the feel of him behind him.  "What can ya do?" he asked as the large arms held him close.

"I can talk to Sephiroth," Zack said.

Reno sighed and shook his head.  "I dunno "

"He probably feels like shit," Zack said.  "I can deal with him if you want."

Reno sighed heavily and closed his eyes.  "I'm gonna hafta face 'im eventually," he whispered.  He could hear Zack breathing in his ear and he let out a soft sigh.  "But I ain't a replacement for that other guy," Reno said and snorted.

 _~I can't even say his name~_

"I highly doubt that he's gonna like that we're an item now, yo," Reno said in a whisper.

"It's not like I'm gonna advertise it or anything," Zack whispered and gave him a squeeze.

Reno sighed and closed his eyes.  He leaned into the man and allowed himself to be comforted since his thoughts were starting to become disturbing.

The image of Sephiroth hiding behind his hair as he lay on the bed arose in his mind.  Maybe he would feel bad about what he did, but it didn't change how Reno felt about it.

"Just don't  I dunno," Reno whispered.  "I think he meant well."  Reno thought about all the planning he had done to try to woo him.  Maybe he had really wanted it to work out but in the heat of the moment, he was undone.

"Hell," he whispered, "I can't even be mad at the bastard anymore."  Reno was over his anger at the whole situation, even though he couldn't forgive him from saying that other person's name.  "Can't forgive 'im, though."

Zack nodded and gave him a quick squeeze. "Understandable."  Zack pressed his body against Reno, and he relaxed into the easy embrace.  "I won't say anything unless he does."

Reno was relieved.  He didn't need Zack picking his fights for him.  He could fight his own battles, even though it felt nice to have backup.  

 _~kinda endearin' too~_

"But I will if he hurts you again," Zack's tone was serious and deep.

 _~very endearing~_

"I can handle things."

Zack sighed.  "I don't think you were handling things as well as you should have."  

Reno closed his eyes and felt his stomach drop at the tone Zack used.  He clung to the arm that was around his waist to make sure that Zack wasn't going to pull away.  Whatever Zack was going to say would be unbearable to hear if he was holding him.   

"That kiss," Zack said, "was a stupid thing to do."  Reno started to feel a little nervous.  He didn't think Zack was still mad about it.  "Cloud doesn't realize how much of a natural flirt he is."

Reno was well aware of that.  The small impromptu massage sessions that he had with Cloud were a good sign that he didn't understand how wonderful his touches were, or how it could be interpreted as flirting.

"When he pulled you into bed with him, he was only thinking of making sure you didn't wake up with a stiff neck.  Cloud is that type of guy," Zack continued and loosened his grip.  "I know he never intended this to happen in the beginning, but now that it has, we have to make sure we don't hurt him."

Reno nodded.

 _~Zack is still being overprotective of Cloud~_

"And you need to deal with the guys that were hurting you," Zack said.  "I know that I haven't been there for you as a friend in the last while when you have been dealing with all of this crap with Sephiroth, Legend, Tseng, and the other guy who is stalking you."

 _~Zack is now being overprotective of me~_

"I'll be better with that," Zack said with an almost regretful tone in his voice.  

That felt good.  He had only ever had Legend and Rude protect him.  He always had to fend for himself when he was dealing with hard situations.  It was always different when someone did more than just simply care.  This was already more than that and it felt damn good.  

He hoped that this was going to last.

"I can live with that, yo," Reno whispered and chuckled lightly.  "I'll promise only to hit on your boyfriend when you're around now."

Zack chuckled too.  "Yeah, well, we have to work on that issue as well."  Zack released him and then moved to the food on the counter and started to place the burgers and fries on separate plates.  Reno got his plate ready and popped a cherry tomato in his mouth.

"Should I go wake up Cloud now?" Reno asked as he watched Zack put a plate in the microwave.

"He'll be out when he smells food," Zack said as he pressed the buttons on the microwave and it started up.  Reno frowned.  Even his microwave was a loud appliance.  Zack needed a new kitchen.

Zack turned to him and crossed his arms.  "So, are you going to call Tseng?"  He tilted his head to the side and gave him a charming smile.

"Dun wanna talk to 'im at the moment.  He's a mood killer, yo," Reno said as he pulled out his phone and gave it a funny look.

 _~how did Tseng get my phone anyway?~_

"Did Tseng tell you how he got my phone?" Reno asked as he flipped it open and scrolled through the missed calls again.  Tseng only tried his number once and that was in the morning.  He saw the name that he had there.

 _~man, he is gonna give me a talkin' to 'bout that~_

"No, he didn't," Zack said.  "Maybe you should phone him and ask."

Reno looked up from his phone at Zack.  He must have been just curious as well.  Reno would be happy not knowing because it would be something that he didn't want to think about or deal with.

"I'll--" Before he could call, the phone rang in his hand.

It was Rude.

He contemplated not answering for a moment, but with a sigh, he pressed the damn button and brought it up to his ear.  "Yo."

"Where are you!?" was yelled so loud into his ear that he had to pull the phone away.  He instantly recognized that the voice was not Rude's.  Rude seldom raised his voice, but the harpy at the other end sure was making up for it.

"Easy there, Sissy," he said when he brought the phone back to his ear.  

"We were worried sick!" she snapped.  "Where are you?  Are you in some lowlife motel somewhere, and how did you get your phone back if we gave it to Tseng!?"

Her unconnected questions boggled him for a moment, but before he could answer, a calmer and deeper voice came on the line.  It was Rude.  "Are you safe now?"

"Yep."

"Are you unhurt?"

"Yep."

"Are you in need of any further assistance?"

"Nah, it's all good, bro."

Rude made a small grunting sound before he added, "Have you called Tseng?"

Reno rolled his eyes and sighed.  

"Call him and we'll talk more later."

And the line was dead.  Rude really didn't have the manners to properly use a phone at times.

Zack was smiling at him as the microwave dinged and he pulled out the food.  Zack was right -- Cloud did start to stagger out of the bedroom, and the sight of him made Reno smile.

 _~a lot of things make me smile here~_

He had found a pair of boxers that looked like they were just a size too big and they hung low on his hips.  Cloud was rubbing his eyes with one hand and brushing at his hair with the other.  It was adorable and cute.

 _~won't dare say it though~_

"Where's the food?" Cloud said around a yawn and then smiled as Zack handed him a plate.  Cloud blinked a few times and smiled at Reno as he walked into the living room while absently stuffing some fries into his mouth.

"Rude just told you to call Tseng, didn't he?" Zack whispered as he stood beside him, holding his own plate as well as Reno's with the salad on it.

"I don't wanna call 'im though.  He'll just nag at me, yo," Reno said and realized that he sounded like a whiny child.

Zack leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the lips -- a soft and disarming kiss that left him wanting more.   "Call him so that he won't call and disturb us later."

Zack walked past them and went to sit beside Cloud on the couch, who had nearly finished all the over-salted fries.

He gave in and called Tseng.  He moved deeper into the kitchen because he didn't know what type of mood Tseng was going to be in with the phone call.  He was temperamental at times, and Reno was just not good at reading the Bossman.

"Reno.  I was expecting your call," Tseng said as he answered.

"Yeah, whatcha wanna talk to me about?"

"A few things," Tseng started.  Reno braced himself against the counter and waited for Tseng to continue.  He found his flavoured coffee and took a sip.  It tasted decent even though it was only warm now.

"Yeah, like what?"

"First, you need to be more careful where you leave your phone.  Anyone could have picked it up and it was lucky that it was returned to you as promptly as it was."

Reno nodded.  He was glad that it was returned the way it was because he didn't really want to talk to Sephiroth any time soon, and he was pretty sure that that was where he had left it.

"I warned you that affiliations with SOLDIER could be dangerous and complicated.  Keep that in mind as well."

So Tseng figured it out.  There was so much implied in his tone, and Reno was glad that he wasn't going to elaborate for once.  He could be so cryptic at times and this was one of the times that he was grateful.  Of course Tseng would have figured it out.  He was the guy when it came to information and it was a pain in the ass sometimes, but it would be the least that should be expected from him.

"I trust you will take as good care of Zack as he will of you," Tseng's voice sounded a little odd when he said that, again leaving some critical information out that only he knew.  "Even with the addition of the infantryman."

"It's all good, Boss.  Really, yo," Reno said in a low voice.  "Better than with the other two."

"Rufus will not let this deter him," Tseng said.  "He does not care.  He wanted you as his own."

"He wanted me to be a replacement, just like Sephiroth," he hissed into the phone.  "I ain't gonna put up with that shit no more."

Tseng was silent on the other end for a moment.  "That is good to hear."

"I know talkin' to the spoiled brat won't change nothin', but I won't tolerate his little games anymore, yo," Reno said.  It was nice saying it out loud and firmly.  They were not a part of his life that he was going to deal with anymore.

He had everything a man could want and more with the two SOLDIERs sitting on the couch in the living room, eating a late lunch without him.

"He will not take rejection well," Tseng said in a warning tone.

"Don't give a shit, yo."

"Good," Tseng said and then his tone shifted.  "I do need to talk about the name that you have listed for myself in the phone."

Reno let out a chuckle and felt his face turned red, "No offense, there, Bossman."

"You will have it changed from 'cockroach' to a more appropriate title before I inspect your phone again, which will be first thing Monday morning."

Reno gave a small chuckle. "I'll change that immediately, Boss."

"We will have further discussions later," Tseng said and Reno could hear the rustling of papers across the phone.  "Do not be late for the morning meeting."

And the phone went dead.  He flipped it shut and took a deep drink of the coffee.  He looked over to the very comfortable-looking men that were almost finished with their food on the couch.  They had turned on the television and seemed to be watching chocobo racing.

Zack was sitting in the middle of the couch and Cloud was leaning on him with his feet brought up underneath him.

Reno opened his phone back up and quickly changed Tseng's name to 'Mighty One', and then closed it.  He wanted to join them on the couch and there was enough room on the other side of Zack for him to be able to sit, eat and lean.

A wonderful combination.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do with the rest of the day?" Cloud asked as he looked at the clock.  They had just spent an hour watching chocobo races and when that was done, there was snowboarding on the sports channel now.  That was one that Cloud found fascinating, but Reno and Zack zoned out and seemed bored.

 _~I will have to take them to the mountains to show them how much fun it is ~_

Zack rubbed the back of his head.  "Well, I did have us a room booked back at the inn in Kalm but I think they would have given it away and all.  There was a carnival there."

Cloud groaned a little.  That would have been fun and he was a little disappointed that he was missing such a wonderful plan being put off.  "They have one every six months, yo," Reno stepped in.  "I gotta place there that we can use so we don't hafta worry 'bout the inn."

"You do?" Cloud asked as he turned to look at Reno who was sitting on the opposite side of Zack.  "That's cool."

"Well, it's a Turk house and ain't nothin' fancy an' all, but it would work," Reno said with a smile.  "I'll make sure we get it and we can all go an' pig-out on cotton candy, then go throw up on one of those whirly rides."

Cloud laughed andZack smiled at the two.  "So for next time," Zack said.  "But what do you guys want to do now?"

Reno was the one that spoke, "I know this is kinda selfish and all, but can  we  kinda just stay in?  It's safe in here an' I just don't wanna deal with the bullshit out there yet."

Zack nodded.  "Of course."  He then turned his head to Cloud.  "Is that okay with you?"

His cheeks were already flushed red and he nodded his head.  Zack raised an eyebrow at the expression on his face.  Zack leaned towards Reno and whispered, "Oh, I think Cloud has plans for us."

Cloud smacked the back of his hand against Zack's chest.  "Shut up!"  His face felt like it was burning.  He tried to get it to calm down and not think a whole array of lustful thoughts about the last night's activities.  And more activities that he wanted to do.

Reno had looked divine bouncing on Zack's lap.   It was a very provocative position and he couldn't help but get hard as he watched them.

"He's totally havin' dirty thoughts, yo," Reno said as he looked around to him with a large grin on his face.

He scowled at them but they both looked so smug.  Zack was wearing his clothes -- that was too much to get through -- and Reno just had to take off his pants.  

Cloud decided to take matters into his own hands.  He lowered his voice and plucked at Zack's shirt.  "I think Zack is overdressed."

"I had to go out " Zack started, but any other words he was going to say were lost as Reno pressed against him and his hands wandered down his broad chest.

"I think he is too," Reno said and already had his hand underneath Zack's shirt and was lifting it up to expose his toned stomach.

"Whoa," Zack said but didn't stop them from playing the game of seduction.  

Cloud was relieved at how easy they were falling in together.  He wanted this to work out between the three of them.  When Reno lifted Zack's shirt up and Cloud saw the wonderful chest being exposed, he lost all worries as he moved in and captured a nipple between his lips.

The groan from Zack was wonderful and caused him to smile.  "Hot, yo," Reno whispered.  Reno was working to get the shirt off of Zack and was trying to get it over his head.  Cloud concentrated on sucking and nibbling on the nub that he had trapped between his lips.  He knew that Zack was enjoying it.  He felt some hair brush against his cheek and he opened his eyes to see that Reno was kissing Zack's chest as well.  He looked up and saw that Zack had thrown his head back.  He felt Zack's arm around his waist and he wondered if he was doing the same thing to Reno.

He also wondered why they fell so naturally into this.  It was not something that was supposed to happen.  He cared for Zack.  A lot.  Reno had always been a friend and a dear one.  Of course he had thought of him sexually, but he had never any intention of cheating on Zack.

It was a little confusing but thrilling at the same time.

He felt a hand on his cheek.  He looked in the direction and saw that it was Reno.  He instinctively leaned forward to give him a kiss.  He moved a hand to caress the cheek of the redhead and gave him a passionate kiss.

"Damn it."

He opened his eyes to see Zack looking down at them.  His cheeks were red and his mouth open in a pant.  Cloud pressed his other hand onto his toned thigh and he could feel the growing excitement that was there.  

 _~well, we can get this moving quicker~_

Cloud brushed his hand against the growing bulge and gave it an appreciative squeeze.  He heard Zack moan, and Reno chuckled at the reaction.  Cloud watched as Reno rose to catch Zack's lips with his.

 _~I won't ever get tired of this~_

He kept his fingers moving with a familiar pattern along the thigh and soon Zack was grabbing at him and trying to pull him close.   Reno was not allowing the access and just increased his possessive capture of the SOLDIER's mouth in soft, quick kisses.  

"You two are going to be the death of me." Zack smiled and spoke in a husky voice that Cloud adored.

Reno hummed and kissed Zack again.  "We'll make sure that ya die happy, yo," Reno whispered.

Zack was too engrossed in the resumption of the kisses from Reno.  Cloud was enjoying the scene of their kissing deepening and becoming needier.  He wondered if that was how he looked when he was kissing the dark-haired SOLDIER.  He contemplated the scene for a moment and decided that he wanted to join the action.  He figured the best course of action was to start working on Zack's pants.  He busied himself by opening up Zack's jeans and starting to wiggle them off around his hips to get the most important part out of his underwear.

He never thought he would be the type of guy that would like the look or feel of a dick, but he loved the look and feel of Zack's and Reno's.  He enjoyed the thought that they were his to play with.

 _~I sound like a greedy, perverted child~_

He pushed his hands into Zack's underwear and gripped the half-hard member.  Zack gasped and pulled away from his kissing session with Reno to look down at him.  He didn't say anything, but he started to pant and his chest was rising delightfully.  
    
Cloud grinned as he stroked the member and felt it harden under his touch.  Zack groaned and threw his head back, while Reno chewed his lip.  "You need to get your pants off," Cloud said as he tugged on them.

Reno's hands started to tug at the jeans as well.  Zack lifted his hips to allow them to remove them.

Reno kept licking his lips and admiring the how Cloud was handling Zack's cock.  Cloud wanted to know how Reno would look with a dick in his mouth and he was liking the idea.  He wanted to see how Zack looked totally under both of their control.  He loved how Zack looked when he was being submissive and couldn't get enough of it.

"I'm such a pervert," Cloud whispered.

The two sets of different blue eyes looked at him with amused looks.  Zack chuckled and Reno smirked.

"What's on your perverted mind?" Zack said and reached down to run his fingers through his hair.

It caused him to blush furiously and he ducked his head slightly as he slid off the couch to sit on the floor.  He still kept one had firmly gripping his cock and he dragged the pants down as well as he could.  "Reno, I need your help with the other side."

He moved his eyes to motion to him to move down beside him and was glad when Reno followed his lead.  Reno looked a little confused but intriqued as to why he was doing the action and continued to tug on the jeans as he moved down Zack's body.

Zack's breathing increased as he looked down at them.  Cloud could see how flushed he was becoming, not only from the colour of his cheeks, but from the increased amount of dew that was forming on the tip of his cock.

Reno rubbed his hands up and down Zack's thigh as though fascinated with the muscle there.

 _~Zack has the best thighs out of any man, hands down~_

Cloud reached over and cupped Reno's cheek and leaned forward.  Reno followed suit as he kneeled on the floor in front of Zack.  Cloud wanted a kiss again before he would move things in the direction that he wanted to go.

"Stop teasing," Zack whispered but didn't make a move.  He had his hands frozen at his sides as if he were wondering what he needed to do with them.  

Cloud chose to ignore Zack for the moment and let go of Reno's lips.  He could see that Reno's eyes were hooded and dark with lust.   He tilted his head a bit so that he could direct his eyes to where his hand was still slowly stroking Zack's member.  He leaned further into Reno and whispered in his ear. "Do you want to taste?"

Reno nodded and licked his lips.  Cloud had to move back a bit as Reno moved to kneel between Zack's legs.  Cloud let go of his dick as it bounced up against Zack's hard belly.  He looked up at Zack who was now all focused on the position that Reno was in.  Cloud watched with great pleasure as he saw Reno lean forward and lick Zack's cock.  The redhead stuck out his tongue and started at the tip and worked his way down to Zack's already tightening balls.

 _~what a lovely sight~_

Cloud watched Reno use his tongue to trace back up again.  Zack decided to move his hands and place one on Reno's shoulder and the other started to weave into his red hair.

Cloud moved so that he could see the whole scene which allowed him to run his hands up and down Reno's back and examined the markings there.  He was curious about the tattoos and he wanted to explore and examine each and every red swirl that marked his white skin.  He wanted to understand and explore every part of Reno.  

Zack made a grunting sound as Reno's mouth circled around the head of his cock.  Zack's eyelids lowered as he watched Reno's actions.  Cloud was pleased with the sight and was even more pleased to see Reno's hands were rubbing up and down Zack's now quivering thighs.

Cloud chewed his lip as he watched the sight and then he turned his eyes back to the markings and allowed his hands to run over them.  He thought they would be smooth but they were slightly rough under his fingers as he traced the nearly traditional-looking red markings.  He ran his hand down Reno's shoulders and to the center of his back where the blade was inked.  The skin felt odd and he was curious as to why the markings were there.  

 _~He would ask later~_

He raised his eyes to see that Reno's mouth was surrounding Zack's erection and he was bobbing his head slightly.  Zack was rocking his hips forward as he was focusing on the man who had his cock in his mouth.

"How does it feel, Zack?" Cloud whispered as he continued to move his hands up and down Reno's back in large, sweeping motions.

Zack made a sound that resembled a gargle.

Cloud chuckled and leaned against Reno who sounded like he was trying to suppress a chuckle himself, but his mouth was a little full at the moment.

 _~speechless~_

He knew from the night before that Reno was wonderful with his mouth, and he enjoyed seeing Zack completely under their control.  He didn't think that Zack realized how wonderful he looked when he was submissive like this, or even if he realized that he was being submissive.

 _~will have to remind him when he is in handcuffs~_

He wasn't going to tell him and ruin the image that he was seeing as Reno's head bobbed more to take all of Zack into his mouth.  This caused Zack to throw his head back and lift his hips.  His arms tensed and a hand gripped tighter in the red hair.

The groan of Reno's name came roughly out of Zack's throat and it stirred things in himself.  Cloud focused on where his hands were going as he stroked Reno's sides, no longer concerning himself with the red marks as he worked his way down.  He started to apply pressure as he did so.  It caused Reno to gasp once but he kept his mouth moving around Zack's cock.

Zack was finally able to get words out.  "I," He had to stop to take a gasping breath as Reno deep-throated him, "want a picture of this."

Cloud smiled as he leaned forward to kiss the back of Reno's neck.  Reno responded with a groan and pushed back against him.  Cloud let one hand reach down and squeezed Reno's bottom to encourage it.

Reno was still wearing his pants but they were loose enough for him to get his hands in there to feel his firm bottom.  He closed his eyes as he kissed his shoulders as he reached around undid the offending garment.

Cloud then realized that he did not have the supplies to do what he was planning.  He kissed the straining shoulders and then moved closer to Reno's ear and gave it a small nibble.  He could feel the man shivering beneath him.  He kept one hand pressed inside the pants and moved it between the firm cheeks.  He rubbed his entrance.  Reno's whole body shook at the touch and Reno grunted as he was trying to concentrate on his actions on Zack.  That was the reaction Cloud wanted.

He moved his tongue to his ear and then whispered, "I want."

Reno pulled his head up and Zack's penis popped out of his mouth and bounced on his belly again.  It caused Zack to groan and pull on Reno's hair.  "Fuck!"  Reno blurted and bucked his hips.  He turned quickly and Cloud was caught off guard as Reno grabbed the back of his head and kissed him.  

He assumed that was a 'yes'.

Cloud broke away from the kiss and off of Reno's wonderful, lean back.  "Be right back," he panted as he ran to the bedroom to gather the lube and a condom. He had to rifle through the sheets to find the bottle of lube.

He heard Zack moan again from the living room.

He was very hard and the tenting was trapped in his annoying boxers.  He just about tripped over them as he tried to remove them as he staggered out of the bedroom with the necessary supplies.

He wished he had remembered his phone to take a picture of the glorious sight of Reno having one hand on Zack's hair, tilting the bigger man's head back and totally ravishing his mouth.  Zack had one of his hands pinned beside his head and laced with the paler fingers of Reno.  Zack's other hand was firmly gripping the side of Reno's arched back.  Reno's pants were loosened and Cloud could see his excited member rubbing against Zack's.  He would have to remove those pants as they rode low and only showed half of the firm, slim ass.

 _~glad he didn't put his underwear back on when he woke up.~_

He let out a low moan at the sight.  Both sets of eyes turned and looked at him as they broke apart the kiss.

Cloud got his stride back.  He placed the necessities to the side but in easy reach, then placed a hand on Reno's shoulder and directed him back down.

Zack smiled and reached the hand that had been in Reno's hair towards him.  "What's your plan, Cloudy?"

Cloud smiled and leaned in for a kiss that he allowed Zack to lead for a brief moment before he looked down at Reno, who was now back kneeling between Zack's legs with his hands rubbing Zack's thighs.  He looked like he was ready to devour the throbbing and very hard-looking cock that was almost at his lips again.

"Just keep doing what you were doing," Cloud said and was surprised about how breathless and eager he sounded.  Reno gladly went to lick Zack's cock from base to tip and caused the larger man to shiver with delight.  He gave the SOLDIER another quick kiss before he went to the position he was in before, kneeling behind the Turk.

This time he didn't play with the markings on Reno's back but went straight to his pants and started to tug them off.  He pulled the man's hips up as he was removing his pants and got a wonderful view of his pale ass and strong legs that were wavering with excitement.  He quickly pushed the clothing down so that they were around Reno's ankles and out of the way before he reached for the bottle of lube.

Reno started to go back to kneeling again but Cloud reached between his legs and grabbed hold of his cock to prevent him from doing so.  Reno gasped and was forced to remain on all fours.  Reno took a look back at him as he did so.

"He's topped before," Zack said as he tugged on Reno's chin to have him pay attention to him once more.  "You won't be disappointed."

"Fuck, like anythin' about this could be any sort of disappointment," Reno said as he looked up at Zack.  "I'm barely holdin' together, yo."  He was shaking slightly but it was all from excitement and lust.

Cloud rolled his eyes and gave Reno a light slap on his ass and then rubbed it sympathetically.  "We are here for you now," Zack added and his hand not so subtly pressed onto Reno's head to guide it back down to the ignored, wet and glistening cock that was waiting there.

Reno obeyed and Cloud opened the lube.  He had only topped once before and that was with Zack, but he didn't feel any of the nervousness that he had felt then.  

He bravely ran his finger over the puckered opening and heard Reno groan and push against it in response.  It made him even more eager.  Zack was looking like he was trying to watch two shows at once.  His blue eyes were darting down to the mouth that was around his cock and then to what Cloud was doing.

He put some lube on his finger and warmed it slightly before he began to press against the opening. Reno's body was very responsive.  Cloud kept rubbing his back and encouraged him to sway with his touches as his fingers probed the inside of him.  He wasn't as tight as Zack had been, but then again, Reno had been ridden the night before but still felt wonderfully warm.  The sight was getting too much for him.  

Cloud had to turn his eyes to the side where he placed the condom.  He had to focus on the fact that he was going to get Reno this time around and Zack was going to watch.  Of course, Reno was doing his best to concentrate on making sure that Zack was getting attention as well.  It looked like Zack was enjoying himself.

He reached for the condom but Zack already had opened it for him.  He frowned at him.  "Your fingers are "  But his words were lost as Reno reached up and tweaked a nipple that caused Zack to gasp for air.

Cloud grabbed the condom out of Zack's limp fingers.  He had to release his touch on Reno's hips to put it on.  Reno groaned around the cock, causing Zack to let out an accompanying pleasure-filled moan.

He liked how the room was filling up with the moans of his companions instead of himself.  He knew he was loud when he had sex and was glad to make other people make those lust-filled noises.

He grinned at the pleasured looks on the faces of the eager participants in front of him.  He gripped the smooth muscles of Reno's hips and lined him up before kissing Reno's shoulder blades and pressing against his entrance.

"Ready?" Cloud asked.

Reno made a mumble that sounded like a yes and sucked harder on Zack's cock.  Zack gave out a cry and arched his back; Reno had to use his strength to keep Zack's hips on the couch.

Cloud didn't wait anymore.  He pushed past the muscle ring and groaned as he did so.  He leaned against the warm, marked skin, moving slowly forward as Reno pushed against him.  "Damn it," Cloud whispered.  It felt good as he filled Reno.

Zack chuckled but Cloud ignored him.  He was concentrating on getting the movements right so that they weren't jerky.  Cloud worked on keeping his hands firmly on Reno's hips and on making his movements smooth and enjoyable.  The noises in the room increased and Cloud could barely focus on anything but the sensations that were surrounding him.  Cloud kept his hands on Reno as he was buried inside the man and he tried to keep the easy pace.  Cloud could feel the energy and smell of the two men surrounding him.  He could hear breathing and moaning that only made everything so much better.  

 _~ I think some of it is mine too~_

He opened his eyes to look over the red, bobbing head to see Zack's face left in a state of orgasmic bliss.  His thighs were pushed up and his hands were tightly entwined in the red hair.

 _~oh fuck~_

That was when the flesh around him started to squeeze him unforgivably and caused everything else to blur.  The orgasm came so quick that he didn't know he was that close.  He thrust one more time deep into Reno and gripped the hips to pull him closer.

He heard another cry fill the room as Reno lifted up from his kneeling position and he was forced to embrace the taller form.

 _~ Heaven~_

Cloud came down from his high and opened his eyes.  He could see Zack reaching around Reno to pull him off him.  Reno made a small whimpering noise and for a moment Cloud thought that he had hurt him somehow as he slipped out of him.  He grasped onto the full condom as he leaned back and hit the coffee table.

Reno ended up collapsing on the floor and leaning against the couch, and Zack was leaning forward with a flushed face and a large grin.

They all smiled at each other.

Cloud was quite happy with this situation and was so happy that it was going to work.

Reno spoke first.  "I need a shower, yo."

Cloud nodded.  "So do I."  He did feel quite sticky and having the wet condom still on was hardly comfortable.

 _~too happy to complain though~_

"You jump in first," Zack said as he clapped Reno on the shoulder.  Reno nodded and smiled.  His hair was a mess but he didn't seem to care as his face was looking so happy and relaxed.

 _~We did that~_

Reno shakily got to his feet.  Zack helped him stand and escorted him to the bathroom, giving him a swat on the ass.  Reno just laughed and closed the door behind him.

"You're next," Zack said as he sat on the floor beside him and held him in a big hug.

Cloud lazily reached up and cupped Zack's face, bringing it down for a kiss.  He then leaned against the warm body.  "Do you think all three of us will fit in there?"

Zack laughed.  "We could try."

Cloud had only been joking, but when he felt himself being lifted in Zack's arms, he feebly protested as they went to try to fit three sexually exhausted and sweaty men into the one-man shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go. Here’s the update for the happy threesome. So, now you can all have wonderful dreams of three handsome and soapy men in the shower.


	54. Grinning Fools

Rude's hands fell on his shoulders as soon as he entered the coffee room.  He couldn't fight being escorted to the far side of the room, despite the protests he had about the fact that he didn't have any coffee.  Rude ignored him and sat him firmly down in a chair.  There was already a cup of coffee sitting on the table and Cissnei was there too.

The other Turks in the room were looking at them curiously, but this was something that he was used to.  He was always on someone's shit list, and it was usually Tseng's list he was on.  If it was always something, even when he tried to behave for the weekend.

 _~especially if they have seen the picture of me kissin' an infantryman~_

"You have some explaining to do!" Cissnei said as she sipped her own drink.

Reno reached for his cup but she swatted his hand away.

"You can have coffee when you start talking."

"Yo, that's cruel an' unusual punishment," Reno said and he cradled his hand.  "It'll get cold."

Rude sat down and looked sternly at him.  "Where were you?"

"Do I hafta answer that?" Reno looked longingly at the coffee; he wanted that cup.  Zack's coffee pot was a piece of crap and it only tasted good when it was mixed with Baileys, and Zack had forbidden him to mix more in there all Sunday, which was rather annoying.  

 _~gonna buy a coffee pot after work today~_

"Yes," Cissnei said sternly.  "What happened?"

He looked over to Rude who was giving him an unsympathetic look over his sunglasses.  His dark eyes were boring right into him.  Rude was always a rock for him, and most of the time his caring for Reno was endearing, but at the same time, it wasn't needed anymore.  Reno was sure they had an idea of where he was; if Tseng handed his phone to him, they knew he had been with Zack.  

 _~I got two guys to look after me now.~_

"Ya know, it would be easier if ya told me what ya do know before I start babblin'," Reno said as he reached for the coffee, only to get swatted again.  He glared at Cissnei.  "You do that again, Sissy, I'm gonna grab your coffee."

Rude cleared his throat, forcing his focus back to him.  "What happened with you and Sephiroth?"

"Nothin'."

Rude's eyebrow rose.  Cissnei decided to be his mouth when he didn't say anything.  "'Nothing'?  The man had your phone and key card."

"Listen, I dun wanna talk 'bout that, alright?  Things didn't go as planned, 'kay?"

He reached for the coffee again and was slapped once more.

 _~she's gonna pay for slappin' me!~_

He glared at Cissnei.

"How did you end up in The Plant and kissing Cloud!?"  Her voice was a little too loud for his liking.  Not that anyone in the room probably hadn't seen the picture already.  She cleared her throat and sat back in her chair.

He took the opportunity to grab the coffee before she could slap his hand again.  He smiled smugly at her as he took a sip.

 _~Rude makes a perfect cup of coffee~_

It was exactly what he needed as he took a deep sip.  Rude was still giving him the look though, and he knew he would be forced to tell him more details later, but he knew he had to summarize things up for the two now, otherwise he would have to deal with Cissnei slapping him all day.

"Cloud was just cheering me up," Reno said.  "Had a relaxin' weekend with some friends, is all.  So get off my back, Sissy!"

She didn't need to know that he spent it with Cloud and Zack and that he had never felt better in his life, despite how disastrous Friday night had been.  It had all worked out in the end and he didn't want it ruined by people being concerned about him.

She twisted her lips at him and then sighed.  It looked like she was going to quiz him some more when Rude spoke up.

"So you're camping out at Zack's now?"

He just about spit out the precious coffee at that but was able to quickly swallow.  He then let out a series of coughs as he looked over to Rude.  Rude may be a silent man, but he came out with good summaries at times.

Cissnei's eyes were large and she looked as though she were stunned.  Her eyes were darting back and forth between him and Rude.  

"So, what if I am?" he finally said.  There was no point in denying it to Rude.  He had confessed to the man about his crush on the two men.  Rude was his best friend and he would get it out of him eventually anyway.

Rude grunted.  "Thought so."  He stood up.

"What?  You're going to leave it at that?"  Cissnei said a little too loudly.

Rude simply shrugged.  "If Zack didn't kill him, he's okay with it."  He reached forward and grabbed the cup from her hand.  "Refill?"

She sighed and watched Rude walk away with her coffee cup.  She then leaned back in her chair and turned to glower at Reno.  "I just don't see how that stuff happens."

"Neither do I, but I'm not gonna turn back, yo."   He looked around the room and saw that there were people that were looking at him still.  He owed no one else an explanation of his personal life and he really didn't want to go into the details of his weekend, even though he was enjoying the memories that those two SOLDIERs had given him.

"What is with that goofy smile?" Cissnei asked with a frown.

 _~I know how to get her to shut up~_

"Just rememberin', yo," he said as he leaned back in his chair and brought his cup to his lips and spoke softly before he took a sip. "Do ya wanna know the details?"

He loved the look of absolute horror on her face at the suggestion.

"I know information that Zack's fan club has no idea about," Reno continued with a large smile and a wink as she shook her head.

"That's too much information!" she said in that loud voice again with a little bit of a squeak.  She stood up and glared at him.  "You're a pervert."

He was thinking about all the perverted things that he had accomplished this weekend and he was sure that it showed on his face.  The 'tsk' that he received was rewarding as she walked over to where Rude was holding her cup of coffee, and she took it from his hands.

"You should know better than to ask Reno those types of questions," Rude said and sipped his own coffee.

Cissnei's face turned red and it looked like she was about to say something, but Tseng walked in and everyone went silent.  Reno looked over as the man walked straight to him and held out his hand in a precise manner.

"Your phone," Tseng said firmly.

Reno smiled.  He didn't think that Tseng had been serious about making sure that he changed the name on it, but he handed it over as everyone started to sit at the tables to get ready for the morning meeting.

He watched as Tseng's eyebrow arched as he rolled through the numbers.

"Do you approve?" Reno asked as he watched Tseng close his phone.  Tseng made a small grunt that could have been interpreted as amusement.  

He tossed it back to Reno and he caught it.  "It'll do."  Tseng turned his back to him and went to get his own cup of coffee before the meeting started.

Reno felt like laughing but settled on a silly grin as the day of work began.

* * *

Cloud was not expecting to be jumped as soon as he appeared in the barracks.  He needed to get into a clean uniform before his start of the day of training and patrols.  He missed the morning rush of people milling about as his first training session didn't start until ten.  He was on second rotation this week.

He was able to enjoy a nice breakfast with Zack and Reno before they both had to go into work.  He got a shower to himself, which was nice.  Not that he really minded having the other two men squeezing in there with him, but they never really got all that clean.

 _~I'm pretty sure I had every part rubbed at some point.~_

It was an interesting experience trying to shower when their arms and legs would get all tangled together.

He was thinking of those wonderful touches and sensual moments that they had shared and he knew that he had a stupid grin on his face.  That was when he felt a firm and strong grip wrap around his waist and he was lifted.  He yelled and his startled scream was joined with other voices.  He protested, but it was too sudden as he was thrown on a nearby bed and pinned down.  He threw out his fist at his attacker but it was caught easily, and suddenly the bunk he was on was surrounded.

Then he recognized his attacker.

"Joseph.  Get off me, you jackass!" he yelled and pushed.  His hands were caught and Joseph pinned them beside his head.  He looked over for help.  He could see Cyrus and Benot looking down with large smiles on their faces.

"You have to give me details!" Joseph said and pressed closer.  Joseph was heavier than he looked.  "Did you spend all weekend sporking with Reno?"

 _~sporking~_

"Get off!"  Cloud yelled and got one hand free and was able to push Joseph's chest so that he was no longer sitting on him.  He was a little disappointed to see Benot catch the blue-haired weirdo before he crashed to the floor.

"So were you?" Benot asked and sat on the bunk beside him.  His eyes were large and curious.

 _~what a bunch of gossips~_

"It's none of your guys' business what I was doing!" he snapped and tried to get up.  He was going to pummel Joseph in training for taking that picture and sending it out to everyone.

"You have to tell us where you were!" Joseph said and was on him once again.  Cloud grunted as the weight settled in his lap.  "You weren't answering your phone."

Cloud had shut off his phone after the twenty calls and texts from just Joseph alone.  John tried a few times and there was a few more as well from others.  He didn't feel like having to explain himself and his absence from the barracks on his weekend off.

"I was busy," Cloud said as he tried to push the pesky, blue-haired man off him again.

"I bet you were," Benot said with a smirk.

"I don't ask the details about your sex lives, so why the hell is mine so interesting?"  He struggled under Joseph, who was grabbing at him and frisking him.

 _~when did Joseph get so good at hand-to-hand?~_

"Because you're screwing a Turk," Cyrus said.

"It's none of your business who I'm screwing!"  Cloud yelled as he had finally got a grip on Joseph and was able to toss him off.  This time he wasn't caught by Benot and fell to the floor with a satisfying thump.  He sat up and had Cyrus' hand on his shoulder.

"Just making sure he isn't taking advantage of you."  Cyrus sounded sincere, but Cloud couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"I already had this conversation with John," Cloud said and removed the hand from his shoulder.  "Listen.  No one is taking advantage of "

Joseph lunged at him.  He didn't have time to block as the man crashed into him and they fell off the bunk and onto the floor.  Cyrus joined them in the mess.

After a lot of yelling, they finally separated and Cloud glared at Joseph.  "What the hell was that for?"

Joseph shook off Benot's hands that had hauled him up.  "I was checking you for evidence."

 _~evidence?~_

Cyrus was behind Cloud, tugging at his collar of his shirt and laughing.  "Well, I only see a small one."

He pulled away but couldn't help but smile at the antics of his friends.  He covered his throat with his hands.  "Get lost!"

Cyrus smiled maliciously and Benot looked annoyed at Joseph.  Joseph didn't even flinch as he reached to check his neck for hickeys.  Cloud swatted his hand away and glared at all his friends.  "Really!  It's none of your business.  I didn't ask you what you did with Dean!"

"You weren't around!" Joseph said.

"We all heard how well-endowed Dean was after Joseph woke, and we don't need to hear it again," Cyrus said.

Cloud could imagine what the conversations were about and how detailed Joseph probably was.  Joseph was not one that understood what exactly was appropriate to talk about, but Cloud wasn't about to give out details of the things that went on in the bedroom.

"I bet you have more hickeys elsewhere," Joseph said with a grin and grabbed for his shirt.

Cloud grasped his arm and twisted it deftly behind his back.  "Damn it, Joseph!"  He sighed and looked over at his two other friends.  "I think he needs to cool down."

Benot grinned widely and Cyrus cracked his knuckles.

Joseph almost got out of his grip but Cloud was able to regain it and hold him firmly.  He wasn't going to let the blue-haired freak get away with pouncing like that.  

"Hey!  No!  I don't need to cool down. I'm good! Really, I'll stop," Joseph whined.  

Cloud increased his grip on his arm and was grateful that Cyrus was helping him now.  Joseph was strong and wiry, and it was sometimes hard to keep a hold of him, but with the help of Cyrus and Benot, they would be able to get him to the showers for the traditional 'cool down' treatment.

"Hey!  Hey!  We're supposed to be ganging up on Cloud!"  Joseph whined again as he was being pushed down the hall.  Joseph tried to brace his feet but Benot quickly grabbed and lifted them to make it easier.

Cloud smiled at John as they passed by him.  He was sitting with his knee elevated on his bunk with a book in his hand.  Cloud heard John over Joseph's protesting screams.  "Serves you right."

"Let me go!" Joseph howled.  Everyone in the barracks was watching now and a few people came over to get a better view of the show.

When they got to the showers someone had already turned on the water to full blast in the stall that was usually reserved for people with injuries.  The stall had a seat and a door.  The other bonus was that the taps were outside the door.  It was poor planning, as it didn't make any sense, but they all had used this private shower for their advantage one way or another.

Poor planning allowed them to 'cool' down their fellow barrack mates.

The door was held open and Joseph fought a little harder.  "You guys are all jerks!" Joseph yelled.

"Yeah, yeah, jerks," Benot mumbled as he let go of his legs as Joseph tried to kick him, but he was too quick to receive the blow.  Cloud used the fact that he was off balance to his advantage and pushed Joseph into the cold shower.

Joseph howled as the cold water hit him and Cyrus slammed the door before he could get out.  Everyone was chuckling lightly as Joseph pounded on the door and begged to be freed.

"I think two minutes should do him," Benot said.

"I hope so," Cloud said.

"Now, we can talk about you and Reno," Benot said.

Cloud rolled his eyes and started to walk away from the squawking man in the shower.  "There is nothing to talk about."

Benot put his arm around his shoulders.  "Are you kidding?  Everyone is talking about that picture and what happened after you left the bar."

Cloud sighed.

"Is it worth it to be with a Turk?" Benot said with a stern tone.

"My personal affairs are my personal affairs," Cloud said and slumped his shoulders.  "Look, Benot.  He was a good friend before we even got to this point in our relationship.  You guys don't need to worry how he is going to treat me.  Can we just leave it at that?"

Benot nodded and gave a grunt.  "I guess so.  You have always proven that you can take care of yourself." Benot ruffled his hair and pushed him away.  "Unless you're in a transport vehicle and get car sick."

Cloud punched Benot in the shoulder.  "I only threw up on you once."

Benot laughed.

"Guys?" a small pathetic voice came from the cold shower.  They turned to it.

"Has it been two minutes?" someone asked.

"He has thirty more seconds."

"I hate you all," Joseph said from inside the shower.

Cyrus snorted and said, "He's going to be as blue as his hair."

Everyone chuckled at that.  Cloud walked away, not wanting to be attacked by the man as he left the shower.  He had to get into his uniform and get to training soon, and this distraction was not helping at the moment.

John was standing by his bunk, leaning on his crutch when he returned.

He could hear yelling coming from the shower as they set Joseph free.

"We are going to have to talk," John said.

"You know, I don't need a mother.  I have one of those, you know," Cloud said.  He was getting a little annoyed that people didn't think he could look after himself.  He was not a child.

Cloud started to pull out his uniform and place it on his bunk, and John stood close to him.  "Was it both of them?" he whispered.

Cloud didn't answer but his face flushed red at the question.

"Fuck, man," John said.  "Really?"

"Don't spread it around," Cloud whispered and tried to make the colour go down.

"We are going to talk about this later when prying ears aren't around," John said and moved back to his bunk.

"Yes, 'mother'," Cloud said in a sing-song tone.

John just shook his head.

Joseph came out of the shower area looking like a blue, drowned rat and trying to talk through chattering teeth.  "I will find out where the other hickeys are!" he shouted at them.  He watched as Joseph shook some water out of his hair and splashed some men that were nearby before he returned to the shower area, presumably to warm up.  

Cloud hoped that things would calm down by dinner time so he didn't have to deal with these nosey issues of Joseph's.

 _~most likely will, especially if Reno shows up~_

John groaned.  "I don't want to know where the rest of the hickeys are or who they were caused by, but Joseph is stalking you now.  I recommend that you get Dean to take him out tonight or something so that he forgets all about your adventures."

Cloud nodded as he took off his shirt, "That's a great idea."

"It means that we are going to have to listen all about Dean's assets again, but at least he is off you for a little while," John said with a suffering sigh.

Cloud looked over at his friend and smiled.  "Are you still stuck in the surveillance rooms?"

John nodded.  "Got to head out there now.  Want me to wait?  I have to walk by the training room."

Cloud took the hint that John really wanted to talk, so he dressed as quickly as he could.  He wanted to get out of the barracks before Joseph got back because he was sure he was going to get frisked for hickeys again.

"Let's go," Cloud said as he grabbed his helmet.  

Joseph was walking out of the shower now with only a small towel wrapped around his waist, and he stalked towards his bunk.

"Hey!" Joseph said and ran up to him.  Cloud sighed as his shoulders were grabbed by the nearly naked man.  "You have to give me the details."

"Joseph," Cloud said and grabbed his arms, "I'm not telling you details."

"I want to know if Reno is as limber as he looks," Joseph pleaded in the most annoying tone of voice possible.

"Do you need to be cooled off again?"  

It was Benot that spoke.   Joseph turned on his heel, cocked his hip and gave such a stereotypical gay stance that nearly caused his towel to slip.  His near-naked state showed that he had more than enough hickeys from his weekend adventure that circled his neck. "Come on.  You all want to know."

"Not all of us," Cyrus said.  "Get some damn clothes on so that we can make it to class on time."

Joseph stormed over to his bunk, whipping his towel off and throwing it at Cyrus as he went, totally unashamed of his nakedness.

 _~I wonder where he finds the time to dye all his hair like that?~_

Cloud rolled his eyes and looked at John.  "Let's go before he puts on a show."

John nodded and they started to leave the barracks.  Cloud tempered his pace to walk beside him.

"I don't want the details, I just want to know how the hell does something like that happen," John finally said.

Cloud found himself blushing.  He was still a little confused at how it all happened as well, but was very happy with the outcome.  The thought of how Reno looked nestled against Zack on the couch was a very pleasant memory.  He had a large popcorn bowl in his lap and they both look relaxed and happy.  He wished he had a picture of it, but he had just moved to the other side of the couch after he started the movie.

A sharp snapping noise occurred by his ear.

He blinked and looked at John who was giving him an annoyed look.  "You have a stupid grin on your face."

"What was the question?" Cloud asked.

John sighed and rolled his eyes.  "You know what, I don't want to know.  You are too deliriously happy for me to get a straight answer out of you."

 _~I haven't been so relaxed~_

"It's all good, okay," Cloud said.  "We worked things all out."

John rolled his eyes again.  "Obviously," he said with an annoyed, bored tone.

Cloud smiled as he looked at him as they approached the training room.  "You don't need to worry, okay?  Zack is okay with all this and so is Reno.  We have some things to work on, but we'll work it out together."

"I can't even understand how you guys can make it work," John said as he rearranged his crutches and hopped a bit to take the pressure off his knee.  "Even though Zack had that same stupid look on his face when he returned my phone."

 _~stupid look?~_

"Yeah, that one," Joseph laughed and patted his shoulder.  "Have fun dealing with all the questions today."  He started to hobble away.

Cloud sighed and walked into the training room and hoped that they would be too busy to ask him questions.  He still didn't understand why everyone thought his sex life was so interesting.

 _~maybe because of the threesome you had all weekend~_

He tried not to think on that and focused on his training.  He hoped that he could keep his mind focused and keep himself from turning into a grinning fool because of the weekend.

* * *

Sephiroth had avoided people all day.  He didn't want to deal with anyone or have anyone looking at him, but he had obligations.  He couldn't avoid them all.

 _~it's like everyone knows of my failure~_

He did feel a little better after the rest he had in the labs, despite the extra blood that Hojo had drawn and the demands that he come down for a follow up due to the fact that there was something wrong in his blood work.

Hojo would not clarify what was wrong, and all he said was, 'I need to run more tests.'  Maybe there was something wrong with him and that was why he couldn't forget about Genesis and move on.  

 _~that would be the easiest explanation~_

What he did was unforgiveable and he understood that, but he still wanted another excuse to blame his obsession with Genesis.

He ran his hand through his hair and pushed those thoughts aside as he walked down the hall with his head held high and with his normally slow but confident gait.  He couldn't show weakness. It was not appropriate for someone in his position to brood.

 _~even though that is what you have been doing since Genesis left~_

He couldn't help but sigh as he turned a corner and there was the last person that he wanted to see standing there.

Zack.

He had been dreading this encounter all day.  He didn't want to have any questions about his Friday evening thrown at him from the man.  He had taken the mission and had made the assumptions that he had been going out on a 'date' with Reno.

He had been dreading the questions that were going to come his way; he didn't want to explain to Zack that things didn't work out at all.

But the questions didn't come.  They had to spend the afternoon together and there wasn't a single question or inquiry about his Friday night.

That was not usual from Zack who had nearly pushed him to be with Reno, and there was not one question about how it went.

He did note the strangely glazed look on Zack's face when Sehiroth would ask him questions throughout their day.  It was often annoying to bring him back to the questions about the latest deployments.  Even Lazard had to clear his throat from time to time to bring Zack back to reality during a group meeting.

It made a small pain in his chest at the thought that it was most likely that young cadet that was making him so happy.

 _~was I ever happy like that with Genesis? ~_

It was an old question that he couldn't remember the answer.  He wished he could remember if he had been happy like that.  Genesis had been a part of everything that he did while he was still at Shin-Ra, but they had grown apart.   He didn't understand why Genesis wanted to be his better.  

Sephiroth knew that Genesis was annoyed at how he could effortlessly win any battle that was set before him.  He had never lost and never would.   He remembered how Genesis gracefully turned his back to him, quoting his beloved poem as he went down the hall with the doctor.  He allowed him to go when Angeal told him that he just needed to have time.  

That was the last day that he saw him.

 _~a silent goodbye after all the tension that hung between them.  It hurt him as much now as it did on that day~_

Genesis was in pain and he just let him walk away and did nothing to ease any of it.

 _~I am such a fool in so many ways~_

Sephiroth was hoping to retreat to his office and work on more paperwork and try not to think of all the things that had transpired.

He did not expect Zack to follow him and for a hand to land on his shoulder.  His voice was thick with concern and halted Sephiroth before he reached his desk.  "Are you alright?"  He turned to Zack and saw that his blue eyes were bright with concern.  "You look a little tired."

"I'm fine," Sephiroth said and moved out of his grasp.  He didn't want to be touched.  He didn't deserve to be touched.  "Let's get this information sorted and returned to the files."

"Are you sure?  Do you want coffee?"

"I am sure," Sephiroth said and sank in his chair with a heavy sigh.  Zack raised his eyebrows and sank in the chair he usually claimed as his own.    Sephiroth grunted at Zack.  "A little tired is all.  I will be fine."

"Uh-huh," Zack said as he narrowed his eyes.  "So, is it true about the rumour of you going down to the labs?"

Sephiroth rested his hands on the files on his desk and tried to keep himself from sighing again.

Zack raised his hands and gave him a smile.  "I'm just concerned about you."

He looked at those blue eyes that were searching him.  He was looking for him to say or do something.  It was a similar look that Genesis would give him when he was expecting something from him.

He never knew how to respond to that look.

But it meant something different when Zack was looking at him.  There was something in that look that grabbed his attention, but he didn't know how to respond to it.  He never did.

Books never told him everything that he needed to know.

"I am managing," Sephiroth said and quickly decided to cut the heart-to-heart off.  He was not in the mood for a conversation like that at the moment.  "Let's get this done so we can go home early."

Zack eagerly nodded and opened his own file, and a large, goofy grin appeared on his face again.  

They worked and Zack did seem focused on the work given to them by Lazard, and they were nearly done.  Sephiroth was finding the amount of reading and reports that had to be done rather exhausting.

The pictures of the clones and how they were mutating to even more monstrous creatures didn't help his demeanour.   It appeared to be starting to bother Zack as well until Zack's phone beeped, signalling that he got a text message.

He watched how Zack's face changed as he read the message.  That stupid, goofy grin that had been appearing all day was back again.   He even chuckled as he sent a message back.

Sephiroth cleared his throat.  

Zack rubbed the back of his head and flushed.  "Sorry about that," he said and looked down at the phone.  "Just had to return the message."

"I am sure," Sephiroth said and closed the files in front of him.  He handed Zack the ones that were done.  "Take those to Lazard and I will finish up with these, and then you can be on your way."

"Really?" Zack said and bounced to his feet.  "Thanks!"  He grabbed the files and was out the door before Sephiroth could respond.

The silence of his office was deafening.  He had no one calling him.  He had no one texting him silly notes or bringing him horrible, tasteless deli pastries and coffee.

 _~not even inappropriate poetry quotes~_

He had nothing to go home to and he didn't want to stay and work.

He was envious of Zack and his relationship.  He was jealous that he had lost the one man that had allowed getting close to him.  He had lost a chance at having a new relationship that could have helped him get over the one that he had lost.

He was able to keep working and was just about done with the files that were in front of him.  He found his eye turning to his computer and thinking about Zack with that infantryman.  They sure had been spending a lot of time together and the message was surely from the young, blond man.  He tapped into the schedules and examined the young infantryman's schedule.  He examined it and it told him that he had been off on leave the whole weekend.

 _~that would explain the goofy grin.~_

He would have the same goofy grin if he hadn't been such an incompetent jerk.

He scrolled through it and frowned.  Cloud was supposed to be in class at the moment and shouldn't be able to text Zack.  He grunted as he looked at the schedule and saw that Cloud was booked for patrols until ten that evening.

 _~maybe Zack is going to scare him again~_

That was a thought that both annoyed and amused him, especially that Zack was still so smitten and would still probably do that and risk getting shot.

He allowed his fingers to dance across the keyboard and he accessed the surveillance videos.  Zack was always easy to find as he was a large and bouncing target that everyone seemed to want to talk with.

He was not expecting to see Zack talking to Reno.

And then they were doing more than talking.

Watching Zack's hand press on Reno's lower back as he escorted him out of the Shin-Ra building made him curious.  Sephiroth expertly switched cameras and watched as they walked and saw that Reno's hands were also being placed on Zack in a most inappropriate manner.

 _~Inappropriate indeed~_

He found himself becoming frustrated as they walked into a diner where Shin-Ra didn't have cameras.  Zack and Reno were friends, but they weren't that friendly.

Sephiroth frowned as he stared at the screen of the 'Goblins bar' where they had entered.

His chest started to hurt.

 _~that's why Zack never asked about my Friday night~_

His fingers tapped his desk as he stared at the façade of the bar.  He reached the keys again and started to do a little more of a search to see if he could find out what he missed during his time in the labs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 0////////0 -- OMG, CLOUD IS A BULLY… I am sure Joseph deserved it though! Badly designed showers, I mean, bad design at Shin-Ra that could never happen with Reeve around.
> 
> Reno … at least has Rude to keep him out of Sissy’s inquiring questions and Tseng likes his new name in the phone.
> 
> And Zack … Sephiroth knows.
> 
> Now, are we also beginning to see why Sephiroth and Cloud are nemeses? Hmmm? Sephiroth is jealous of Cloudikins!!!
> 
> OFF TO DO MORE!!!! I think I need to write a little Dark Nation.


	55. Turnabout

Rufus smiled as he looked at the magnificent form of a Turk.   He appreciated how the lean redhead moved as he sauntered down the hall with his EMR bouncing on his shoulder and a whistle on his lips.

He didn't know where the Turk had been hiding out the last couple of weeks but now he had him in his sights and he wasn't going to let him out of them again.  He was going to stake his claim and make sure the man knew to whom he belonged.

His sources had been sketchy about Sephiroth, but that was of little matter to him.  He was going to have the redhead realize that he was better than that oversized doll that was Sephiroth, and make him see what type of man he was.

He motioned for Dark Nation to move forward and attack with a simple wave of his hand.  He was well aware that she did not like Reno and that was working to his advantage as she had been trained not to attack Turks.

 _~she's already proven that Reno doesn't matter to her~_

There was a startled yell and an array of curses as Dark Nation latched her teeth onto his black jacket and started to tug.  He always admired how Reno fought her, and Rufus walked forward.  She was growling as she shook her head, causing Reno's coat to tear.

"Fuckin' mutt!  Get the 'ell off me!" Reno yelled and lithely turned.  He raised his EMR and struck the side of her face with the rod.  

Rufus raised his eyebrows in alarm and rushed forward.  He didn't want her hurt out of this, and it looked like Reno was really pissed off.

The hit made Dark Nation let go of the jacket and then latch onto the EMR with a heavy growl.  He could hear the cracking of the EMR and was imagining the situation that happened before.  Dark Nation was out of sorts for three days after the last shock she received from the EMR and he didn't want to deal with that again.

"Nation," he called and clapped his hands.  Usually that was enough to call her off, but she didn't back off like she was trained to do.   He watched her jaw clench tighter around the EMR and he saw it bend.

 _~I have underestimated her dislike of him~_

"Nation!  Off!  Now!"  he commanded and was dismayed that she still did not listen.  One of her back paws got purchase on Reno's leg and tore at it.  Reno's cursing increased exponentially as Rufus saw blood form from the scratch.

"Fuck this!" Reno yelled and that was when Reno pressed the button on the EMR.  Dark Nation jumped back with a yelp and cowered in a nearby corner, shaking her head and scratching at her ears and tentacle with her front paws.  He was tempted to run to her first and make sure that she was all right, but he turned to see Reno lying on the floor with a bleeding leg, a ripped and torn coat and a broken EMR that he had thrown from his hands.

"Reno?" he asked as he looked down at the man.  He wasn't sure what to do.  This was not what he had planned to happen at all, as he was supposed to drag the man in the conference room.  He was going to make sure that the redhead was going to be eating out of his hand after he was done with him.

Reno did not look pleased as he opened his eyes and gasped for breath.  "Fuckin' hell.  What the fuck, yo!?  Can't ya control your little pet?"  He looked like he was trying to get up but hesitated and collapsed back down with a gasp.  

"I can control Dark Nation just fine," he said defensively as he squatted down beside the man and grabbed his hand to helped him to his feet.

 _~I just underestimated her dislike of you~_

She made a small howl as she continued to scratch her ears, and her tentacle whipped wildly around her in frustration.

He helped Reno to his feet and had to support him as he swayed and nearly fell again.  Reno hissed as he tried to put weight on his injured leg.  Rufus immediately re-calculated his plan on getting on Reno in a place where he could somehow show him who was in charge and that he was going to be his.

"Why don't we go over here so I can take care of your leg?" Rufus said as he pointed to the room he had planned on using for different reasons before.  At least he was certain that he was going to get him out of his pants now that Dark Nation ripped them.

"I don't fuckin' think so," Reno said as he pushed away and was forced to lean against the wall to stay on his feet.

"Pardon me!" Rufus said at being pushed away.  People didn't push away from him.

"I'm not playing any fuckin' games with ya no more," Reno said angrily and shook as he stood as though trying to shake off the shock that he had just given himself.  He looked pissed.  Rufus didn't think that he had seen him look so angry before.  He was not used to that look in those blue eyes that were focused rather intently on him at the moment.

There was none of the curious lust that he had felt before from that look.  The need that he created wasn't there and that was what he craved.  Reno was not succumbing to his charms and that wasn't right at all.

 _~Sephiroth got to him, damn it all~_

Rufus glared.  "Everyone likes games."

"I don't like the games that ya were playin' with me, yo," Reno said as he picked up his broken EMR and stared at the pieces.  "Fuck, man.  You gotta keep that fuckin' monster away from me an' you're gonna replace my EMR with one of those top-of-the-line models that extend out twice as quick, yo."

"You're in no place to make demands of me," Rufus said and stood as straight as he could.  He didn't like the fact that Reno was taller than him.  Everyone was taller than him and he didn't like that at all.  Even his pesky half-brother had inherited height and he got nothing in that regards.

 _~but I will get the company~_

It was the only consolation in that matter was that he had more power than all the tall people around him.  

 _~except for now~_

Reno was not falling into the role of a subservient Turk like he was supposed to.  Rufus was the Vice-President of the company and he was always supposed to be listened to.

"I have every fuckin' right to make demands of you, yo," Reno said with his voice full of venom and his jaw clenched as he spoke.

Rufus was not expecting to be grabbed.  People did not grab him.  He was off limits and that was all there was to it.  Reno's hands pulled at his arm and threw him into the wall.   Reno overpowered him with pressing his forearm against his throat and forcing him to stand on his toes as he was placed in that humiliating and degrading position.

Rufus grabbed at the fabric of the dark suit and tried to pry the arm off his throat.  He was shocked when Reno leaned into him.  "You'll get me a new EMR and you'll get me a new suit since yer fuckin' pet tore up this one."  

Dark Nation seemed to have recovered from the attack and was now growling in the corner.  Rufus was able to see that her tentacle was whipping back and forth and her lips were curled into a loud and very pissed off growl.  She looked unsure if she was going to attack.

"She attacks me again, I'm goin' ta hurt ya as much as she hurt me," Reno growled.  

Rufus looked into those fiery blue eyes and he was a little startled at the intensity that was presented there.

Rufus took a moment to answer.  He didn't want his voice to waver as he spoke and despite the position that he was in, he wasn't going to let his dignity be ruined because of a simple Turk.  "Stand down."

 _~Reno is not a simple Turk~_

Dark Nation gave him a confused look and looked like for a moment that she was going to, but then decided that she wasn't going to 1isten to him again.  She continued to growl and took a step forward, making sure that her claws were extended and clicked menacingly on the tile floor.

"Sit, Nation!" he commanded as the pressure on his throat increased and lifted him so that his toes were no longer holding his weight on the floor.  He then had to gasp for air.

She thankfully obeyed him and sat.  She didn't look any less menacing.  She still had a snarl on her lips and her tentacle was waving dangerously behind her.  She looked like she was ready to pounce at the snap of his fingers.

Reno leaned close into him and he could feel the anger coming off of him.  "I'm no longer on the market, yo.  You had your fuckin' chance an' ya wasted it with teasing me an' makin' me feel like a fuckin' replacement for Genesis."  There was venom in his voice still as he lowered him down so that his feet were touching the ground again.  "I'm not a plaything an' I will not be puttin' up with that shit from you again, yo."

He frowned and rubbed his throat as Reno took a step back from him and distancing himself further from Dark Nation.  She looked liked she wanted to go for his throat.

 _~how did he know about Genesis?~_

"You aren't a replacement for Genesis!  Where did you get a stupid idea like that?" he said as he staggered closer to Dark Nation.  He was a little more shaken by this whole turn of events than he had anticipated.   He was not used to those that were supposed to be enthralled by him not listening and hurting him.

"It doesn't matter, yo," Reno said as he rolled his shoulders and adjusted his jaw.  The shock must have really hurt him.  He could see that the muscles in Dark Nation's back were twitching also.  He would have to look into how much juice was in those rods if they were doing that much damage.

"Your brain got scrambled by the shock!" he blurted and leaned against the wall behind Dark Nation.  She was a good barrier to have behind the angry Turk.

"Yo, noggin's workin' just fine," Reno said and tapped the side of his head.  "Came to my fuckin' senses an' found people that care 'bout me an' not treat me like a fuckin' plaything."

"I did not "

"Shut up!" Reno yelled so loud that his cheeks looked red.  "I'm done with ya and that's that."  Reno glared at him for a moment.  The only sound that was in the hallway for the moment was Dark Nation starting to growl.  Rufus reached down and pulled on her collar.

"I am done with you," Reno said, "So, give it the fuck up an' leave me the hell alone."  He stood straighter and put weight on his wounded leg.  He smoothed his rumpled shirt and looked down at his torn and ripped jacket on the floor.  "I'll do my job as a Turk.  Don't make me regret any decisions to save ya in the future."

Rufus watched as Reno turned on his heel and walked away from him.  Dark Nation seemed to lessen her stance and posturing as he disappeared down the hall.

Rufus snapped his fingers and she shakily stood and put her head under his hand.

"Finally decided that it is a good thing to obey me now, eh?" he said and tugged her collar firmly so he could leash her.  He grabbed it from his pocket and unrolled it.  She made a small whimpering noise that usually was trying to garner sympathy from him, but he was not going to give her any today.

 _~I wanted to leash Reno~_

He needed to find out where he got the idea that Reno was just a replacement for Genesis.  

It most likely was Sephiroth that put the idea in his head.  He would have to talk about Sephiroth interfering with his relationship.  He didn't think that Reno was a one-person type of guy.  He thought he could handle the relationship.

 _~I miscalculated~_

But with every miscalculation there was a reassessment that needed to be done.  If he thought that he was going to give up because he got a little pushback, he had another thing coming.

"Come," he said and pulled on Dark Nation's collar.  He would have to go find Reeve so that he could cast a Cure on Nation to stop her quivering, and then he would have to ask about acquiring a few gifts to make it up to Reno. He was going to make him realize that he wasn't going to be deterred that easily.

If he was, he would have stopped the first time Tseng had warned him.

* * *

Reno was fuming and limping as he approached the infirmary.  He had been quite content avoiding the brat for the last couple weeks and thought that he didn't have to worry about being ambushed.

 _~boy, was I wrong~_

His leg burned from where the monster had clawed him and his muscles were still twitching.  He had to clench his jaw to keep his teeth from clattering.

The nurse looked up and gave him a confused look as to why he was there.  "Fuckin' mutt and a little lightnin' came into my life," he answered her question.

"I will have you watch your language," she said curtly but then escorted him to a room.

He was never so happy to see a hospital bed in his life.  He collapsed onto the examination table and waited for a doctor to show up.  He could go to Rude and he would cure him.  The big man always had Cure materia on him, but he didn't want to explain himself.

 _~It will be bad enough to explain the ripped suit to everyone~_

He sighed.  He hoped he would be able to get home and dispose of the evidence before anyone saw him.  He didn't need to have Zack hunting down the Vice-President because of the encounter in the hall.

He still hadn't told Cloud and Zack about Rufus' teasing, even though they would push from time to time.  He was not comfortable telling them that he was being played by the Brat, and he was grateful that they allowed him to keep that to himself.

He had no intention on falling back into that trap where he was under the man's spell no matter how attractive he was.  He had a good thing with Zack and Cloud and he wasn't going to screw it up.

He felt good about the encounter and felt that he had put the Brat in his place.  He didn't want to deal with it any more and he thought he had made himself pretty damn clear.

The doctor entered the room and pulled the file off the wall that Reno hadn't even seen the nurse place there.  He didn't remember giving the nurse his name but he didn't say that as it looked like his file.  "What is it this time, Mr. Reno?"

 _~Mister~_

"Dog claw scratch and EMR shock," he said simply.

The doctor's eyebrows rose as he started to rifle through his files.  "And what kind of dog?"

"The kind that the Vice-President keeps at his left hand," Reno said as he sat up.  He could feel the muscles in his back start to ache.

 _~I can say that I overdid it in some training and then get Cloud to massage me~_

That was a pleasant thought.  Their relationship was still working between the three of them and he was encouraged that it would remain so.  There were huge advantages to having someone that was so good with their hands, and who knew how to use oils, as a boyfriend.

The doctor went to work on the scratch first and announced that there was a little bit of poison in the wound, but it was nothing too serious, as it was only a small scratch.  He didn't know that was an option with Guard Hounds and was gleefully informed about the different types of Guard Hounds and the different effects every subspecies had from the doctor.

 _~I hope this guy isn't really a vet~_

"You got quite a shock there, though, to have your muscles still twitching," the doctor said.  Reno had set his rod on full because he was so pissed at being in a near-similar situation that he had been in before with the mutt.  He knew he was going to feel it, but at the time, he didn't care at all.

He wanted to teach Dark Nation and Rufus a lesson and he wanted them to remember it.

He hoped that they had learned it and that they stayed the hell away from him.

The doctor pulled out a green orb and cast a Cure spell after he used an antidote to clean the scratch on his leg.  He preferred the tingle from the magic than his own EMR.  

"Thanks, Doc," Reno said as he tested his leg out.  He was still tense, but the thought of Cloud's hands made him feel better about it.

"Are you going to file a report for your injuries?" the doctor asked as he was filling out paperwork.  

"Nah," he said, knowing that the paperwork would be in Tseng's hands in two seconds if he did so.  "It was just durin' trainin', yo," Reno added.

The doctor's eyebrows rose again.  "Training.  Right."  He didn't care if the doctor didn't believe him, it was all about the paperwork and if the paperwork said that it was done during training then it was done during training.  The doctor gave a sigh.  "You are free to go.  Rest those muscles tonight or else they will tense up."

He just smiled and walked out the door.

 _~I got plans tonight, yo~_

He walked out of the examination room with plans to run to his apartment, take his tattered suit off and change before he made big plans for the evening.  It was his turn to provide food for the two SOLDIERs.  He had said that he was going to cook but after the encounter that he just had, he was going to have to order something in from Monteno's.

Zack's apartment had become the place where they would hang out.   They even tried altering their schedules so that they would match Cloud's since he had the most inflexible schedule out of the three of them.  It was a hard juggle but it was well worth the effort.

The last time that he had seen Cloud had been Monday, and it was nearly Friday, so he was finding that he was missing him.  He had seen Zack on Tuesday but then work took over again.

 _~work is screwing up my sex life~_

He was looking forward to having both his men sleeping beside him tonight.

He was almost distracted in those thoughts when he stopped cold in the medical hallway at a sight that he was not expecting to see.

Sephiroth.

He was rising from the blood donor chair as a nurse must have just finished drawing his blood.  He was just grabbing his jacket and standing up.

 _~after dealing with Rufus, now I have to deal with him~_

"Reno," Sephiroth said in his deep voice and Reno felt his breath quicken at the sound of how he said his name.  His voice and his chest were appealing and there was no mistaking that the man was handsome and alluring.

He had done a damn good job of avoiding him too.  Zack had told him that Sephiroth was being really quiet but had said nothing about it as they talked.  Zack swore that he didn't bring it up either.

He wasn't sure if he was ready to deal with this after dealing with Rufus.

He set his jaw and looked over at the man.  "Sephiroth," he said and tried not to sound breathless.  He was not in the mood for another confrontation and he highly doubted that getting aggressive with Sephiroth would be a good idea to drive him off.

"I need to speak with you a moment," Sephiroth said as he put the jacket over his shoulders.  "Do you have some time?"

 _~so proper and polite~_

He wanted to say no.  It would have been easier if he could say no to the man, but if his day was going to be stressful, he might as well get it over with as soon as possible rather than drag it out to another day as he had.

"Sure," he said nervously.

Sephiroth nodded and looked to the doctor that he didn't realize was standing beside him.  "Do you have an office we can borrow for ten minutes?"

The doctor nodded and pointed to the examination room that they had just exited.  "You can use this room."

Reno found himself inside the same examination room again.  He refused to sit on the examination table and sat in one of the chairs in the corner.  Sephiroth stood by the door with his hair hiding his face and was staring at the floor for a good minute before Reno started to get annoyed with him.

"Yo, ya have somethin' to say to me, or are ya jus' tryin' to corner me as well?" he blurted, but didn't get out of his seat.

"Cornered?" Sephiroth raised his head.  "That was not my intention."

"Then talk!"  Reno wanted food, clean clothes, a massage from Cloud, and maybe some sex and he didn't want Sephiroth to get in the way of ruining that.

Sephiroth gave out a dramatic sigh.  "I'm sorry."

Reno was glad that he was sitting because he doubted that he had ever been more shocked, even than he had been by his EMR.

"I thought that I was ready to move on from," he paused and looked away from him, "Genesis.  Obviously, I have not and I am sorry to have hurt you in the way that I did.  I am sorry."

Reno blinked a few times.  He didn't know what to expect to hear in this conversation, but he certainly did not expect to hear an apology.

"I know that you have already moved on but I would like to try not to have such  animosity between us, if that would be possible." Sephiroth was now looking at him with large, green eyes.

"I can try," he said and saw the ghost of a smile form on his pale lips.  "And, yeah, I have moved on, so I don't wantcha gettin' yer hopes up or anythin'."  Reno stood.

"I wouldn't expect you to change what you have already established," Sephiroth said and fidgeted with the buckles of his coat.  He almost looked as lost as he felt, and he felt sorry for the man.

 _~things would have been so different if he would have said my name the way he said Genesis'~_

"Good, 'cuz I'm quite happy now, yo," Reno said.

"That is good to hear," Sephiroth said but didn't look like he meant it at all.  He was giving the hurt puppy look that he had to have learned from Zack, because it was near perfect.

 _~can't feel too sorry for him~_

The look quickly vanished from his face and he straightened himself up and he looked like the General that he was.  "I am glad that we have cleared the air."

Reno nodded.  "Ditto."

Reno felt a little awkward and they both left the examination room together and walked to the elevator.  "Did you have a bad mission?" Sephiroth asked as he pressed the button to go up and as Reno pressed the button to go down.

"Why do ya ask?"

"I know that you usually are a little sloppy with your uniform, but this is a rather excessive," Sephiorth said as he pointed to his leg and plucked at the collar of his shirt.

Reno snorted and took a step back.  "Jus' had a bad run-in is all." Reno was not about to explain to Sephiroth that he had to just about beat up Rufus to get him off his case.  He didn't plan on telling anyone about what had happened, and least of all -- Sephiroth.

"With a Guard Hound?" Sephiroth asked.  "You must have really pissed her off from the damage that she did."

He narrowed his eyes at Sephiroth. "If ya want me to still forgive ya, you will drop it."

Sephiroth raised his hands. "I'll drop it" he said as the elevator arrived to go up.  He stepped inside.  "It was good to talk to you again."  And then the door closed, leaving Reno standing there.

Reno sighed and waited for the elevator again, and now he just hoped for a massage.  He wasn't hungry anymore, but he knew that his two SOLDIERs would be.  He was grateful that he had some sanity to go back to.

 _~this day was a complete fucking mess~_

The elevator opened to go down and he groaned at the sight of another person that he didn't want to meet today.  

"Hey, Reno!" the cheerful and annoying voice of the blue-haired infantryman blurted.  "Just the guy I wanted to see."

 _~and I'm going to need some booze too.~_  


Cloud knew that Reno was going to be grumpy when he got home.  He had heard all about what Reno had done to Joseph and how offended Joseph was that he wouldn't give out any of his 'boinking' activities with him.

Cloud had to hear about the lack of cooperation in determining if he was being treated right.

 _~he's so annoying~_

Joseph needed another cool-down.  This was why he was late in getting back to Zack's apartment.  He did get great enjoyment of hearing Joseph pleading with them to turn on the warm water.  Dean had been there and rescued him, and that created a whole new scene because Dean was now saying that he was picking on his boyfriend.  He left before they got too vicious with each other, but he really wished Dean would get over his jealousy and that Joseph would quit fanning the flames.

It was Reno's night to cook so that meant take-out and he always bought enough food from a fancy restaurant to be able to feed all the men in the barracks.

Zack was going to be late, which was a shame, but Cloud was thinking about watching a movie and relaxing.  He had to be up early for patrol so he didn't want to make it a late night.

The sight of Reno made him worried.  The food was there but Reno was wearing the tattered remains of a uniform and he looked like he was a little tense.  He had just put the food out on the table.

"Reno?"

He turned around and smiled at him, but he looked tired.

"Sorry about Joseph," he said right off the bat.  "I am trying to get him to back off but it makes him even more determined to get details."

"He's nothin', yo," Reno said as he walked around the table and Cloud saw that part of his pants were ripped.  "I jus' flipped 'im an' walked over him after he got too persistent.  Did ya send 'im for another 'cooldown'?"

"Yep," Cloud said and noticed that Reno looked really tired and stressed.

"Ya'd think that that guy likes cold showers." Reno chuckled as he puttered with the bags of food.

"Did something else go wrong today?" Cloud asked as he saw that Reno was avoiding looking at him.

"It was one of those days, yo." He moved away from the food and hugged Cloud, then gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "Back is kinda tense," was then whispered in his ear.

Cloud pulled back and rolled his eyes.  "I get the hint.  After we eat, I'll give you a massage."  Both of his men were not very subtle when they asked for a massage from him.  He didn't mind though, he liked being able to touch them and help them relax.  They both had much more stressful jobs than he did, and it was what he could do for them.

 _~and it usually leads to more~_

"You're the best, Cloud," Reno said and grabbed the plates out of the cupboard.   Reno still looked disturbed and a little sad.  He usually smiled longer than that, but a frown quickly formed on his face as he grabbed the plates for the food.

"Can you talk about it?" Cloud said after a moment.  Reno couldn't talk about some of his work due to the secret nature of it all.  It was part of him being a Turk.  He had told him one night that he would always listen to him, even if he couldn't really understand what he was ranting about.

Reno shook his head as he sat down.  "I was hopin' to have a shower an' change before ya got in, yo," he said as he collapsed in his chair.  "Broke my EMR; kinda liked that one."

"Did you get hurt?" Cloud said as he felt a tightness form in his chest.  Every time Zack or Reno would get hurt, they would down-play the injury.  He knew they sometimes used it so they could get the shoulder rub to a full-out massage from him, but it still made him tense thinking that they were getting hurt with their work.

He knew it was silly.  They were in jobs where they could get hurt really bad so easily, but they were good at their jobs and they would just come back with cuts, scrapes, and strains, to which he would attend.

 _~I think they do that on purpose now~_

"Just a tense back," Reno said.  "Nothin' serious, yo.  You'll help me work that out."  He gave him a wink and a crooked smile.

Cloud could see that there was more there, but let it go.  It was most likely something to do with work and he couldn't tell him.  He would let it go as he knew Reno would tell him when he was ready.

Plus, he was hungry and the thought of Reno all oiled up and relaxed under his touch was starting to affect him, especially when Reno bent over to pick up a dropped bag that had fluttered off the table.

"I certainly will," Cloud purred as he started to grab some food and smiled in the way that he knew would affect Reno.  The silly smile that Reno returned was enough for him at the moment.

If he could take the stress away with him for a moment, it made everything all worth it in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh! Did I leave without writing any smex?
> 
> Well then, just a little tease here then. I want you all to envision … Cloud wearing a nurse’s uniform! **RUN WITH IT!** Next chapters name is called, ‘Nurse!’


	56. Nurse

Cloud was panicked when he first heard Zack was injured and was being brought back to the base camp.  The radio had crackled about the monster attack and that Zack had been hit by one of the monster's status attacks.  He had run up and helped them bring him into the town hall that was being used as a medical facility and wanted to know how badly he was hurt or if he was playing it up.

He had been worried when he saw Sephiroth himself drag Zack into the town's hall and place him on the nearest cot.  Zack was hurt and had some major status effects affecting him.

Now, Cloud made sure that he stayed as far away from where they had him as possible.

Zack was downright embarrassing to be around at the moment and there was nothing, not even his pleading for him, that would make him go into the room where they placed the injured First Class SOLDIER.  He wished Silence was still in effect because it would have been a hell of a lot less humiliating if he had kept his mouth shut.

Cloud had thought the mission was going to be a great learning experience and have more of a chance to prove himself before the SOLDIER exams, which were fast approaching.  After all, it wasn't very often that he got to go with Zack and Reno in the field and he would have the chance to also observe Sephiroth. It was the first time that he had been in a helicopter that Reno was flying.  He only got a slight case of motion sickness and wasn't down for as long as he usually was.

 _~I wish Reno could fly me all the time~_

He only got to see one day of action with the monsters in the field before he was regulated to medical duty because one of the medics got injured.  He was there and he stepped up to the plate to help his fellow infantryman.  They were not expecting such resistance from the monsters.  Because of his diligence, yet again, delegated to medical duty and helped with the poisoned and injured men that were coming in and out of the hall that they were using as a medical facility.

He was too busy to protest.

The monsters they encountered were stronger than the scouts and that the town people had said.  They encountered a nasty nest of Malboros that caused the issues and was disrupting the simple scouting mission.

It was what Zack found and he had disturbed them.

Zack had been hit by the Bad Breath and he wasn't equipped with the right accessory to protect against the horrible poison.  He got the full brunt of it as well as the other men that were in his group.

He didn't feel sorry for him at all at the moment and he worried about the other people that were injured, disorientated, and sick.  Zack could take care of himself if he was going to continue to say the silly stuff that he was spouting out of his mouth.

The town doctor was giving him strange looks since Zack had returned and Cloud knew what was coming.

 _~stupid guy, has an odd sense of humour~_

"So, Cloudykins, can you help me out with the man over in the corner?  We need to clean his leg of the poison before we heal him."

He scowled at the chuckling doctor, but knew it wasn't going to stop the names that Zack had spouted off.  The doctor continued to laugh as he handed him a small bag that contained some antidotes.  They had been going through a lot of them as well as using Ensuna to match the Malboro's potent poison.  He wasn't very good with the magic yet, so he was regulated to cleaning wounds with the antidote and making sure no one was having relapses.   

"Yes, sir," he said through clenched teeth.  

A medic chuckled from the other side of the hall.

 _~so glad that I'm amusing them~_

"When you get it clean, call me over, Pumpkin."

He knew his face was red as he walked over to the injured man, who had a glazed and confused look on his face.  He was even a little green-looking from the poisoned gash in his leg.

Cloud took a deep breath and went to work.  The poor man with the injured leg hissed with pain but still managed to ask, "Pumpkin?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes as he recognized the infantryman as one of his fellow barrack mates.  "Shut up if you want me to take care of this without hurting you more."

The man just nodded his head but Cloud knew he was going to be hearing more of these names that Zack had been spouting since he saw him.  

He began to work on the man's leg when two more injured were escorted in by Joseph and John, who laid them down on some cots that were by the entrance of the hall.

"Hey!"  It was Joseph that spoke as he noticed him.

 _~I don't like that tone ~_

"Studly Snuggle Bunny, there are more poisoned guys here," Joseph said in the loudest voice possible.

Everyone giggled -- even the injured.

 _~at least they are trying to suppress it~_

He gripped the antidote tighter and glared at Joseph who gave him a small wave before he bounded out of the hall.  Cloud couldn't clean the man's wound anymore because the injured man was shaking with laughter.

John came over and patted his shoulder.  "It will blow over.  Don't worry," he said in a comforting tone, but then added with a snicker, "Cupcake."

He groaned and wished he could crawl in the cave with the Malboros.

* * *

Reno loved flying his helicopter; it was what he lived for.  There was a freedom with being in the air and the control that he had when he was flying; he never panicked as he was in his element when he was in the air.  

He hadn't lost a ride yet, despite the complaints about his recklessness.  This was what he lived for.  Rude wasn't his co-pilot today and the poor, young Turk that they had paired him with was too much of a rookie.

And being able to fly Cloud and Zack was a bonus.  Seeing Zack in full, serious First Class SOLDIER mode was such a turn-on.  Zack was at his best when he was giving orders and with everyone following those orders without question as they started the mission.  He never noticed how hot that was until today and he knew he got a stupid look on his face when he was watching the SOLDIER work, but he didn't care.  

Zack was hot and that was all there was to it.  He wished he had the time to take a video of him at work; it was better than watching a porno.

And then there was Cloud.  He was only a little green after the helicopter ride and he was a little worried that he was going to spew as they were flying into the town.  He had tried to make the ride as calm as possible so that the blond wouldn't feel as bad.  The grateful hand squeeze he got as they landed was a great reward to receive before Cloud joined the other members of the infantry.

Cloud was a natural leader even if the blond didn't realize it.  He naturally fell in the lead and people listened to him when he said something, even if they teased him about his air sickness or his hair, or when he stumbled on a root in the ground.  Cloud was still the leader of the group.

 _~and when exams come up next month he will make it into SOLDIER~_

He would be at Zack's side in his personal life as well as his professional in no time, and it was a wonderfully comfortable thought.

 _~then when I call him SOLDIER, he can finally stop correcting me~_

They started the allegedly simple assessment of the area to determine if it was adequate for the addition of a mako reactor before everything went to shit.  He had been in the air when he heard that Zack found a monster's nest and was nearly gobbled by a big-ass Malboro.

There weren't even supposed to be the nasty monsters in the area, so he knew that the no one carried the correct accessories to counteract the monsters' nasty effects of their attacks.  He became more serious at the word that Zack was injured because of it.

Zack and Sephiroth killed the big ones, as he understood it, before Zack had succumbed to the Bad Breath attack and was nearly a mid-afternoon snack.

He had only fought one of them in the simulators and had never had all the effects of Bad Breath.  Rude and Tseng did once, and they were messed up for a week because of the aftermath.  It was a powerful monster and had no problems trying to assert its power.  Rude said that Angeal and Tseng took twenty minutes to finish it off.  He didn't think a plant could be so difficult, but seeing Rude green for a week made him change his mind.

He even had seen the picture of Rude turned into a frog.

 _~ I wonder how many of the infantry turned into frogs~_

He thought of Zack and Cloud with their spiky hair but with little green bodies, with Zack having a tiny sword and Cloud a tiny machine gun, trying to attack a giant Malboro.  It was a very amusing image that had him smiling as he approached the building that they were using to store all those that were becoming injured and to continue to evaluate the area.  Two infantrymen were watching guard at the door but he didn't think they were as vigilant as they should be.

That was when he heard a familiar voice crooning from a nearby window.  His voice was quite clear.  "Cloudy," Zack called.  Zack sounded like he was drunk, his voice was very distinctive but slightly slurred and drawn out.

One of the men near the window rolled his eyes at his fellow guard.  "Really.  Why don't they just feed him to Zack to shut him up already?"

The other one chuckled. "At least he stopped calling for his 'Chocobo Muffin'."

They both started to do more than giggle until they spotted him and then stood at attention.  He tapped his new and improved EMR on his shoulder. "What's goin' on here?"

"Cloudykins," Zack's voice drawled again.  "I need more medicine, Kitten."

Reno raised his eyebrow at that.

 _~what the hell?~_

The men he was talking to couldn't help but start to giggle like schoolgirls.  He didn't wait for an answer to his question, as the next voice in the hall told him all that he needed to know.

"Shut up, Zack!"

Cloud sounded pissed.

"But I want to have my Golden-Chocobo nursey-wursey back."

Laughter could be heard through the building and he swore that he heard a groan.  

Reno couldn't help but smile, but tried to stop as a very red-faced Cloud stormed out the front door and quickly turned his angered blue eyes towards him.  Reno tried to get his face to remain neutral but someone whispered 'nursey-wursey', and he couldn't help but start laughing.

"If you make one comment, I will kick your ass," Cloud said through clenched teeth and stalked off to one of the supply trucks.

Reno pressed his lips together because he could see why Zack was calling him a 'nursey' now.  Cloud was no longer wearing his infantry uniform, but a pair of pale blue scrubs that looked a little snug on him.  They were dirty and spattered with blood, poison goo and antidote.  He must have been busy dealing with the rotation of people in and out of the hall as they were still cleaning up the nest of monsters.

The light blue clothing was very attractive on Cloud and Reno allowed his eye to wander as Cloud stalked angrily away from him and climbed into the back of a supply truck.

One of the infantrymen was leaning against the wall and had a hand over his mouth.  If he didn't know that he was trying to suppress his laughter he would have thought the man was sick.  The other just stood there with a large grin on his face.

Reno assumed that this had been going on for awhile.

Cloud clomped back and stood in front of him with another case of antidotes firmly tucked under his arm, and his vibrant, blue eyes were almost challenging him to laugh or say something.

 _~and I am always up for a challenge~_

"Well, get it out of your system and join the rest of the Dorky Faces," Cloud snapped as he adjusted the case and started to fish something out of his pocket.

Reno was determined not to laugh as it looked like everyone else was doing a good enough job of that.  He didn't like it when Cloud was mad at him, but the situation was too damn funny.  He hoped he would be able to hold out until he was at least able to get to his helicopter before he broke into a giggle fit.

"Sweetums," Zack's voice could be heard coming from the window.

Reno lost it.  He couldn't help it with everyone laughing around him and Zack's sing-song, drunken voice.  He grabbed Cloud's shoulders and shook with laughter that he hadn't allowed himself for a long time.  

"Y-you look h-hot in a nurse's uniform," Reno finally stammered out.  He didn't think he had ever seen Cloud's face so red or his lips so white.

"Are you done?" Cloud said with narrowed eyes.  He was standing rigidly and was very obviously pissed off, and Reno tried to rein himself in.

"For now," Reno said with an amused smirk.  He knew Cloud was going to be mad about this, but he just couldn't help it.

 _~at least Zack is in the dog house more than me~_

Cloud sighed and thrust a bottle into his hand; it was a tranquilizer.  "Give that to Zack and tell him to shut up.  I have other people to help the medics with."

He was about to say something more when Sephiroth entered the town with his Masamune drawn and bloody, even though there was not a drop of blood on him.  The laughter around them died down as he approached.

"Situation report," Sephiroth demanded and the man that was guarding the entrance to the hall looked like he was about to say something when Zack's voice rang through the air again.  

"Pumpkin.  I need my medicine!"

Sephiroth stopped suddenly at the outburst and the tip of his sword nearly touched the ground.  Reno was amused to see him tilt his head to the side and raise his eyebrows up in confusion.  "Is that Zackary?"

Reno nodded but didn't trust himself to say anything.

 _~I'll break into laughter if I open my mouth~_

He knew that Sephiroth had saved Zack's ass and dragged him back to the camp.  The Malboro got him good with whatever toxin it had.  He didn't remember this being a normal side effect of the Malboro poison, however.  

"How long has he been doing that?" Sephiroth asked with obvious confusion.

"He's in and out of consciousness, sir, and when he wakes up, he calls for ChocCloud like that, sir," one of the infantrymen said outside the door.  The other guard just about started laughing but hid it with a cough.

"That is certainly an odd reaction to Malboro poison," Sephiroth said as he looked at the entrance of the building.  He sheathed his sword and looked at him.  "I'm going to check on Zackary.  Is that why you are here as well?"

"Yeah.  Heard what happened an' wanted ta check on 'im, yo," Reno said as he held up the bottle that Cloud gave him.  "Gotta give 'im this too, I guess."

Sephiroth hummed and nodded, not adding anything else as he started up the steps into the building.  Reno followed him at a respectable distance.

He was on easy speaking terms with Sephiroth now and Zack informed him that the General had lightened up in the last month.  He was still tense and kept his distance from them all, but he didn't avoid them.  Zack said that they had a few heart-to-hearts, but Sephiroth was doing okay.  Reno was still a little worried that he spent most of his time in the archive room or the library with a book in his hand.

He did wonder if he was really okay about it all.  Sephiroth would still sometimes give him the look that told him that he felt like he was missing out, but at least he didn't do anything to act on it.

Rufus was a completely different story.  He did get his new EMR from the brat and a new suit.  He just about sent it back to him, but Tseng advised him to keep it because it would keep him at bay for just a little longer.

He had not had an encounter with Rufus since Reno had put him in his place, and he had to admit that he loved his new EMR.

 _~was kinda hoping to test it out on Dark Nation though~_

He still felt a little awkward talking and dealing with Sephiroth, but if they kept it on the professional level and not bring up what had happened, then things would work out.  So far Sephiroth had been nothing but professional, even though he felt there was something lying beneath the surface.

He followed behind Sephiroth as they went into the hall.  He was curious as to what was up with Zack and was anxious to see if he was all right.  He didn't sound like he was too hurt, but Reno was still worried.  Unfortunately, Tseng and one of the scientists spotted him and called him over.  He held the tranquilizer and looked at the room where Zack was holed up and then back to Tseng, a little torn at what to do next.

A leather hand fell on his shoulder and Sephiroth's smooth, deep voice made him shiver as he took the vial gently from his hand.  "I will take that and ensure that he takes it."  He swallowed hard as Sephiroth removed his hand and slowly and gracefully turned to the room where Zack had been slotted.

He took a moment to catch his breath and allow his heart to calm down.  He knew he tensed up at his simple touch.  He could see how Sephiroth's hand wavered as he took the bottle from him, and Reno wasn't too sure that he liked him touching at all.

Sephiroth was not doing as well as Zack thought he was.

"Reno," Tseng said in a stern voice snapped him out of staring as Sephiroth disappeared into a room that must have been someone's office at one point.

He had to focus on work and he would deal with what was going on with Sephiroth later.

* * *

Sephiroth held the tranquilizer ahead of him as he walked into the room.  Zack had been placed on a cot by the window, which was open and letting the breeze into the room.  He had an IV bag hooked up to one arm and was wearing a flimsy hospital gown.

Most of his clothes had been covered with slime and torn from the Malboro, and Sephiroth doubted that it was recoverable after what that monster did.  Zack had everything that monster could throw at him except for Frog.  Sephiroth was grateful for that as he didn't want to carry back a confused, misshapen SOLDIER.

"Sephy!"   Zack crooned and looked over him with a large grin and a strange sparkle in his eyes.

 _~he's totally out of it~_

"Pardon," he stated at the shortening of his name.  He never appreciated it when people called him that.

"How's it going, dude?" Zack said as he rolled his head to the other side and then back again.  "Ya know, you got pretty hair."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as he stood at the side of the cot and examined the IV bag to which he was attached.  Antidote and saline solution -- nothing that should be affecting Zackary to make him as dazed and as silly as he was behaving.  Sephiroth assumed that it was the after effects of having the status effects inflicting him for so long.  It took him twenty minutes to get him to medical care, as no one had Esuna or a remedy in the field.

Of course, they had not been expecting to encounter Malboros as the first scouting mission obviously missed some important details.

 _~will have to talk to Tseng about his information~_

Zack's smile grew wider and he showed more teeth.  Sephiroth could see that his eyes were nearly all pupil.  "Did they give you a tranquilizer yet?" he asked, not really expecting a coherent answer.  He knew the signs of the medication and despite the one in his hand that he assumed Zack still needed another dose.  Zack looked like he was inflicted with Hyper but his eyes were showing him that there was mesmerize as well.

 _~Zack's messed up~_

"Dunno," Zack said as he looked up at the half-empty IV bag.  "I got a bunch of stuff and I got a sponge bath."  His large, dark eyes turned to him but Zack's face twisted into a frown.  "It wasn't my Chocobo though, it was someone else."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes.  Zack really had no 'inside voice' it appeared, and everything was coming out of his mouth; a mouth that had a pretty thin filter to begin with.

"Here's the tranquilizer and "

Sephiroth was not expecting to see Zack's hand dart forward and grab the straps of his armour.  He tried to pull back and was a little alarmed that Zack was strong enough to keep him in place.  "Did you see him!?"  Zack's voice was toned down to an excited whisper.  "You saw him, right?"

"Who are you referring to?"

 _~I'm pretty sure I know who he's referring to~_

"My little Honey Bear," Zack said with that dumb smile forming on his lips.  "Did you see how sexy he looked?"

"I am afraid that I have not seen your 'Honey Bear", Zackary," Sephiroth said as he tried to detach Zack's hands from his armour, but the injured SOLDIER held firm.

"Man, you are totally missing out on a sight!"  Zack collapsed back into his pillow and let go of Sephiroth's straps.  Zack crossed his hands on his chest and looked up at him.  "He's in the cutest clothes."

Sephiroth opened the tranquilizer and offered it to Zack.  "I think you need to take this."  Zack was in his own little world as he was staring at the ceiling.  The smile on his face looked a little strange and his eyes were completely black.  "Zackary."

"He would look hot in a little white number." Zack's voice was soft and dreamy.  His eyes blinked slowly as though he were seeing something only he could see.  One of Zack's hands floated up and his fingers danced in the air.  "With one of those white hats with the red crosses on it nestled in his hair  yeah, that would look great."  His arm fell and he turned his head to the side.  "Then I would have my own cutesy nurse."

Sephiroth raised his eyebrow again and frowned.  He was getting a picture that he was not welcoming.  He didn't understand why people thought medical clothing was 'sexy'.  It was to allow for easy cleaning and nothing more.  He had never encountered a 'nurse' uniform that Zack was describing in a real facility before and he saw nothing thrilling about scrubs or a lab coat.

"Ah, here you are."

 _~speaking of creepy lab coats~_

Sephiroth turned his head to the sound of the owner of the voice.  He glared as Hojo walked into the room.  "I have been looking for you."

"Oh," Sephiroth said coolly, "I was not aware that you were supposed to be on this simple scouting mission."

"I wasn't supposed to be," Hojo said as he adjusted his glasses.  "But the information about this nest of monsters was intriguing.  I need you to ensure that I get a few alive for experimentations."

Sephiroth took a deep breath as the man walked forward and took the tranquilizer out of his hand.  "I will administer his medicine, if you don't mind, Sephiroth.  Go out and bring me the creatures back alive," Hojo said in a smooth but still condescending tone.

Sephiroth nodded and let go of the vial as he pulled it from his fingers.

"Doc!" Zack suddenly blurted out as though he just realized that Hojo was in the room.  "I don't need a doc!  I need a nurse!"  Zack blinked his darkened eyes and seemed to look right through Hojo.  "Cloudy!"  he bellowed in a loud enough voice so that everyone in the building could hear him.  

 _~at least from the laughing it sounds like it~_

Hojo sneered.  "He's going to need more than just a tranquilizer."

Sephiroth agreed with that statement, but at least Zack's condition was pretty harmless in nature, even if he was acting as though he were still mesmerized.

Hojo turned sharply to him.  "Don't you have something to do?"

Sephiroth snapped to attention and nodded.  "I will return with some specimens," the General responded and started to leave the room, leaving Zack with Hojo.  

"Make sure you return them alive, and with little injury, unlike last time," Hojo called after him.  Sephiroth's steps faltered briefly, but he kept moving forward.  He didn't want to be in the room with Hojo any further if he were here demanding him to collect monsters for his experiments.

As he walked out of the room, he saw Reno standing beside Cloud.  

Cloud was wearing nothing like the outfit that Zack had described, but a simple pair of pale blue scrubs.  He was sure the only reason people were saying anything was because of the fact that Zack had been crooning strange names from the separated room.

He could see the look that Reno was giving Cloud as they talked in low voices.    Reno's hand was resting on the small of Cloud's back in a casual fashion but at the same time claiming him.

He never thought their relationship would hold together, but it had.

 _~ I never really had a chance~_

Cloud scowled as Reno said something and he pulled away from him.  Reno laughed at Cloud.

"I got work to do," Cloud said and stalked out of the hall.  

He felt eyes fall on him and saw Reno was looking at him.  He quickly gathered himself up and followed behind Cloud.  He had to ensure that Hojo brought enough cages for the monsters that he wanted collected before he dared tried to catch one of them.

* * *

Cloud was too busy to listen to the taunts for a little while.  A lot of men were getting poisoned and having odd side effects of the poison.  None were as bad as Zack's.  He was grateful that Zack was no longer bothering calling him odd names from the room.  He was sleeping off whatever it was that was affecting him.

Hojo had taken over the dosage of the medications and things seemed to go more smoothly.  All the medics and doctors deferred to him as he gave commands, even if he was a little rude in the way that he did it.

People were getting better from how he administered the treatments but also made the ground troopers busier as they were not collecting the monsters to take back to Shin-Ra.  That act also was more for the men who were getting injured because they were trying to retrieve the monsters alive for transport.

 _~and Zack finally stayed asleep so he could quite calling me strange names~_

The chaotic activity was calming down for the night.  He was just sitting down to rest with a drink of water when a man sat beside him and put his arms around his shoulders.

 _~wonderful~_

This is what he was dreading most about the day.

 _~Zack is going to pay for babbling those names~_

Another body slid on his other side that was just as unwelcome and that person's arm threaded around his shoulders as well.  He looked to his left and to his right and saw both men had large smiles on their faces.  Out of the corner of his eye he could see another man looking on with amusement.

He looked at Benot and then to John, who was leaning against the wall with a way-too-amused look on his face, whereas Benot was looking serious.  "You're both in cohorts with Joseph?"

"Darn right.  What the hell was that all about?"  Benot asked and squeezed his arm tight.  

"I thought you were with Reno?  Why the hell is Zack calling you all those names?"  Joseph said and clutched at his other arm and in a demanding whisper continued, "and why aren't either you mad at one another over it?"

 _~I'm going to kill them both~_

Cloud groaned.  "Listen, guys.  I'm tired.  I've been running my feet off, dealing with puke, goop and other toxins on top of being called those names all day.  I don't need to deal with this too."

Cloud really wished Reno would show up to scare them off.

~or even deal with the questions~

"Are you cheating on Reno?" Benot asked.

Joseph was less tactful.  "Are you fiddling Zack?"

 _~fiddling?   What the hell is it with him and these strange words for sex~_

"I think he's doing both," John said simply and gave him a smug look.

Joseph and Benot burst into a flood of questions that he didn't want to answer.  Joseph put him in a headlock and Benot looked like he was in a state of disbelief.

 _~John looks way too amused~_

Cloud was not looking forward to fighting off these men as he watched John walk away and leave him alone with the large array of questions about his sex life.

 _~ I just got him to shut up and quit asking~_

"John!" he called, only to see him start to walk away, still looking amused.  "Help."

John stopped walking and looked back for a brief moment, as though he were contemplating on helping, but then his words made Cloud wish that he had new friends.

"You made your own bed, sleep in it."

The questions from Joseph started to become even more inappropriate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Et tu John, Et tu? *snicker* Poor Cloud. At least the mood was lightened around all those injured people, eh! Laugher is the best medicine.
> 
> Poor Cloud, he isn’t thinking so now that he is being mobbed by Joseph of all people. Again, poor Cloud. I think Zack and Reno need to pay him some extra attention.
> 
>  **Malboro** \-- Bad Breath : **Effect:** Inflict multiple status ailments upon all enemies, including Confusion, Frog, Minimum (Shrink), Mute, Poison, and Sleepel.


	57. Nursing

It was the next day that Zack came out of whatever that Marlboro did to him. He remembered everything that he had done and said, and he was expecting Cloud to be mad at him, but not that mad at him.

The mission took a few more days than originally planned, mainly because of Hojo’s arrival and the insistence of more samples and specimens in the area needing to be gathered.

Cloud had been delegated to the hall for that second day as he was anxious to get back out to prove that he could fight. He was not happy with the new orders and Zack could not pull strings to get him back in the field.

Hojo was the one that was keeping him there, saying that he needed the assistance of a young, strong trooper that could handle the patients with ease. Cloud had followed his orders but he was not a happy man about it. Zack had to ask Sephiroth to pull rank on Hojo. Sephiroth did and for the last day they were there, Cloud got to battle the monsters and prove that he could be a SOLDIER.

Cloud had only spoken a few words to him. “Yes, sir,” was one of them. “No, sir,” was more common coming out of his mouth, but the most threatening and memorable whisper was, “I’ll talk to you later.”

He asked Reno to try to get him to talk to him. There was a huge advantage of having two boyfriends, and that was that there usually was an intermediate that could help work things out, but it appeared that Cloud was just as mad at Reno as he was of Zack.

 _~even though he would talk to Reno more than me at the moment~_

Zack knew it had to do with everyone calling him ‘cupcake’ and various other cutesy names …

 _~that all suit him so well~_

… and causing his face to turn red at every silly word. It was a good thing that Cloud was able to take some of his aggression out on the battle field, because he was mighty pissed.

Reno didn’t have any luck either. “We just need to let ‘im calm down a little. It’ll be fine when we get back home, yo,” Reno said and patted his back before he had to fly some more supplies around.

But they were back home now and Cloud was still mad at everyone. Zack was even shocked at the fact that he was mad at John …

 _~not surprised about Joseph~_

… for some of the things he said to him during the mission as well. John had confessed that they ambushed Cloud and he had helped Joseph and Benot question him about Cloud’s relationship with him.

Zack had pressured John to finally get out what had happened. “Cloud had to fight off their questions for hours about what was going on, and he got really frustrated and told us all to fuck off,” John finally said. “We were only joking.”

“I’m afraid that Cloud doesn’t take to those nicknames all that well,” Zack said a little sheepishly. He wished he could take the whole day back.

No one was calling Cloud ‘cupcake’ when they had returned to Shin-Ra. Cloud made it clear to both him and Reno that he was going to sleep in the barracks and would talk to them later.

“I was inflicted with bad status effects,” Zack pleaded with Cloud, “I didn’t mean anything that I said.”

Reno stood stunned. “I didn’t do anythin’, yo!”

Cloud continued to walk away from them with his gear as they disembarked from the helicopter. Zack was pretty sure that he looked like a fool standing there as Cloud walked off to the barracks.

A few of the men were chuckling around them.

“Yo, you were the one that called him ‘Baby’,” Reno scowled and pushed Zack’s arm.

“I didn’t call him that!” Zack said, “Did I?” He pushed him back, feeling a little like he was being picked on.

“It was one of the names that you missed.”

They both turned to see Tseng standing behind them. Zack was certain that he was looking quite smug. “Can you both concentrate on the work at hand and deal with your other issues later? These specimens need to be stowed in the laboratories as soon as possible. We cannot risk the escape into the general population.”

“Right, Bossman,” Reno said with a sloppy salute and headed back to his helicopter where there were crates that contained some of the dead animals. The live ones were making a lot of noise already and shaking their cages.

Zack turned to Tseng but knew from the look on his face that he must have still been pouting from Tseng’s response. “The quicker you get it done, the quicker you can deal with your temperamental infantryman. Get to work, SOLDIER,” Tseng said with an amused tone to his voice.

“You like bossing me around too much,” Zack said and crossed his arms, glaring at the Turk.

“Always have. Now get to work,” Tseng said as he looked at his clipboard and started to give orders to the other people that were milling about.

Zack noticed that Sephiroth had not bothered to remain behind when they had arrived. He disembarked from his helicopter and left. He would have to talk to him to make sure he was okay. He also noted that Hojo was no where around either.

 _~I hope Sephiroth’s okay~_

Zack didn’t have time to contemplate it much more as one of Hojo’s ‘specimens’ broke free from its cage and he had to get to work.

* * *

Zack was using his best puppy-dog eyes and Cloud melted inside but tried not to show it. “I’ll make it up to you tonight,” Zack said with the biggest eyes he could manage and set his lips in a pout.

 _~I want to kiss the dork~_

“You’re going to have to do a lot to make it up to me,” Cloud said as he stood with his arms crossed. He didn’t want to make it easy on Zack. He knew Zack had been under the influence of toxins while babbling but the constant barrage of cutesy names made the mission the most embarrassing thing he ever had to endure. Despite that, he couldn’t stay mad at Zack for it.

“Anything,” Zack said with the puppy eyes.

Cloud smirked and he saw how Zack was bending over backwards to please him.

 _~he can do that later~_

“I want a steak dinner,” Cloud said and tried to keep himself from smiling. He got over his anger after he had slept for a night. He couldn’t stay too mad at him when it was just silly names that Zack had rattling off. It was more the questions that he was deflecting from Joseph and Benot that irked him.

 _~still don’t understand what’s so interesting about my sex life~_

“Of course!” Zack said. “I’ll make steak, and what do you want with that? Rice or noodles?”

“Noodles.” Cloud refrained from rolling his eyes at how eager Zack was to please him.

“Salad or steamed vegetables?”

 _~is he going to go through the whole menu?~_

“Both, with ranch dressing for the salad,” Cloud answered. “Is Reno off tonight?”

“Yep, he’s going to help me,” Zack said as he took a step forward but hesitated and then took a step back as though unsure if he were allowed to approach him.

“What do you want for dessert?” Zack asked and was almost bouncing on his heels and looked like he was trying to refrain from doing squats.

“Whatever you want, Zack. I got to go now. I’ll meet you back at your place,” Cloud said. If Zack kept asking him questions, he was going to be late for his afternoon materia training class.

“So are you still mad at me?” Zack said and his face became even more pathetic.

Cloud wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to let him know. “We shall see how good dinner and dessert is.”

Zack took a sure step forward and grabbed his shoulders and for one moment he thought Zack was going to kiss him in public, but instead he got a hug that knocked the breath out of him before he could tell him to stop it, and then was let go.

“I knew you weren’t mad at me anymore. Later!” Zack said and bounded off before he could defend himself.

John shook his head as he walked by. “You guys are pathetic.”

Cloud jogged to match John’s stride as they were going to the same class. “Are we partnered up today?” Cloud asked.

“I think so, why?” John said as he adjusted his helmet under his arm.

“Just wondering. I think we get to use Lightning in class today.” Cloud smirked at John, who narrowed his eyes at him.

“You aren’t still mad at me about what happened on the mission, are you?”

“You egged them on and encouraged their questions,” Cloud said with a large smile. “You should be careful in class today.”

“Good luck with that. I have better skills with materia than you do.”

Cloud knew it was true, but it wasn’t going to stop him from trying to get back at his friend for his antics. If Joseph was in this session he would fry his ass. The blue-haired freak was not good with materia at all, and Cloud had the advantage over him there. It didn’t stop him from posturing. “I will make your hair as spiky as Joseph’s.”

“Gaia forbid,” John said and gave him a friendly shove.

Cloud smiled brightly at his friend and the thoughts of class, but his thoughts soon turned to the apology dinner and dessert that was planned for him.

 _~especially dessert~_

* * *

“Yo, relax, Zack,” Reno laughed as he watched Zack trying to make sure everything was going smoothly. “Cloud’s not really mad at you anymore, is he?”

“I don’t think so,” Zack said as he opened the fridge for the millionth time in the last ten minutes. “But I did call him all those cutesy names and you know how much he hates that.”

“It was fricken hilarious,” Reno said with a smile. Zack glared at him.

“Do you have the table set?” the SOLDIER said nervously and started to pace around the kitchen again.

Reno moved forward and grabbed Zack’s arm and sharply pulled Zack into him and did what he knew would calm down the agitated SOLDIER — he kissed him.

Zack protested at first and tried to pull away, but Reno deepened the kiss and got a firm grip on the back of his head. He threaded his fingers into that dark hair and massaged his scalp. Zack started to soften and give in as he continued to kiss him. The redhead used his lips and teeth to get the larger man to relax. He felt his rough hands reach for his sides and lift his shirt. He nibbled on the SOLDIER’s lip and gently tugged on it. He received a satisfying groan as a response as he released his lip.

It had been a week and Reno was feeling the lack of attention as well. That mission, as much fun as it was to see his SOLDIERs at work, was all business. He never had time to spend any quality time with them, as the arrival of Hojo and his nerd squad kept them overly busy.

 _~didn’t even get a nurse to give me a kiss~_

He pulled away from the kiss and noticed that Zack’s face was flushed. “Is it almost done?” Reno asked.

Zack blinked and took a step forward, his tongue darting out as though he were tasting the kiss and soothed his swollen lips. Zack made a small humming sound and hovered over him. “I want another kiss first,” Zack said.

Reno smiled and obliged the dark-haired SOLDIER with a brief peck on the lips, then darted out of range before Zack could want more. Reno laughed at the pout and the groan that escaped his lips. “Ya can wait til Cloud gets here. You’re supposed to make it up to him.”

Zack focused on the cooking again easily, talking and babbling the whole time as he moved around the kitchen. Reno loved listening to his babble about how his mom made the steaks with a mushroom sauce.

 _~yuck, mushrooms~_

Reno made the salad, because he could cut things up as long as he didn’t have to cook them. He watched the large man move around the kitchen and got a wicked thought.

“Yo, you would look hot in jus’ an apron,” he stated as Zack stirred the sauce.

Zack laughed. “You buy it for me and I’ll wear it.”

Reno had to stop what he was doing. “Even if it’s pink, yo?”

Zack rolled his eyes. “You’re weird.”

“With frills?”

“Reno!”

“With a big bow in the back!”

“Do you want me to look like a girl?” Zack said as he turned around with a big wooden spoon in his hand.

 _~you would look sexy~_

“Hard to mistake you for a girl, yo,” Reno said and added a wink, “Especially if that is the only thing you’re wearin’.”

Zack chuckled and looked like he was going to say something more when the door to the apartment opened. They both turned expectantly to the door as this was the time Cloud was supposed to be done with his day.

 _~must. Not. Laugh.~_

Zack’s chuckle turned into a choked-back laughter. “Cloud! What happened to your hair?”

Reno covered his mouth to hide the smile that was becoming too large and he knew it would get Cloud mad at him. Cloud’s hair was more spiky than normal.

 _~and more than a little~_

Cloud’s normally wild like hair was a lot more prevalently spiky and was all over the place and looked a little singed on the edges. Cloud looked tired and sore. “I hate materia,” he muttered.

Zack walked up to him and pulled him into a loose embrace. He tried to calm Cloud’s wild, yellow hair and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Practice didn’t go well today?” he asked.

Reno was glad to see that Cloud melted into the embrace, which meant that he was giving up the pretence that he was mad at them.

“John sucks,” Cloud said simply and then took in a big breath. “Supper smells good.”

Zack beamed. “It will be ready in half an hour. You go have a shower and get out of your training clothes, and then dinner will be ready.” Zack ran his hand through the abnormally wild hair. “You smell like ozone.”

Cloud pulled out of Zack’s hug and started to take off his muffler and shoulder guards as he walked to the shower. “I’m starving.”

Reno stopped smiling when he noticed that there was a small quake to Cloud’s hands.

 _~know that feeling~_

“Don’t you dare say anything about my hair,” Cloud said with a small pout crossing his face.

“Looks like ya got hit by a pretty strong bolt,” Reno said and he wasn’t just referring to his hair.

Cloud stopped as he took his shirt off in the middle of the living room and threw it on the back of the couch. It nearly made Reno stumble as he walked towards Cloud.

 _~oh, yum~_

Cloud didn’t realize how his body made him react. Reno couldn’t help but notice the changes in his muscles as he continued to train and get closer to becoming a SOLDIER.

 _~he’s going to be perfect~_

“Yeah, John’s pretty good with magic,” Cloud said. Reno could see the slight quiver that was in his shoulders and arms. He was glad that he didn’t see it in his back or stomach, so he would recover from the shock rather quickly. He wasn’t going to take any chances though. He wrapped his arms around Cloud and cast Cure …

 _~started carrying it around after dealing with the Brat~_

… before Cloud could stop him.

Cloud sighed softly as the magic washed over him, but then he frowned. “Why did you do that?”

Reno rolled his eyes. “I don’t care what your instructor says, yo. Shakin’ from a shock ain’t gonna make ya stronger.”

Cloud shook his arms as though he were trying to get something off his skin. Reno kept his embrace and kissed the blond’s neck. “If he gives ya hell, I’ll turn my EMR to max an’ place it on the base of his skull.”

“It would have been gone by morning,” Cloud whispered.

“Dun care,” Reno said in between kisses as he allowed his lips to roam his delightfully warm shoulder.

 _~he does smell like ozone~_

There was a loud cracking sound from the kitchen that caused them both to jump. Reno turned to see Zack with a wooden spoon in his hand that it looked like he just wacked against the counter. “That’s for dessert!” he said. “Let Cloud have his shower and we need to eat first.”

“But what if I want dessert first?” Cloud said with a hint of mischievousness.

Reno started to chuckle and pushed on the shoulder of the young, blond man. “Quit being a tease and go have your shower.”

Cloud grunted as he started to walk away. “Who’s teasing who?” he mumbled as he disappeared into the bathroom.

* * *

Cloud had his shower and he could hear Zack and Reno in the kitchen. He felt better after washing away the tension of the materia practice off his skin, and now his hair didn’t look like an ill porcupine. He was glad that Reno used Cure on him. He hated the tingling sensation that lightening gave his muscles and he had felt a little weak when he had walked into the apartment.

Having the hug and gentle words from both Reno and Zack before he went into the shower meant a lot to him.

He dressed in a loose pair of jeans and a t-shirt that he had stashed before he walked out to join the other two with the meal. They ate, had a few beers that Zack pulled from the fridge and enjoyed light conversation.

He was feeling rather relaxed and full as Zack started to clear the plates off the table and place them into the kitchen. That was when he felt a toe against his inner leg. It stopped him from talking and made him lose his train of thought completely.

He looked over to Reno who was sitting across from him and was now slouched in his chair. He felt the foot move further up his thigh.

“You were sayin’?” Reno said.

Cloud didn’t remember what he was talking about. His focus was on the toes creeping up his inner thigh and he unconsciously opened his legs to allow more access. He opened his mouth but no words came out, and he was a little shocked at the small moan that escaped him.

Reno chuckled.

“Anyone want dessert?” Zack said as he re-emerged into the dining room area and stopped in the door with three bowls balanced in his hands.

Cloud looked over and was about to say ‘yes’ when agile toes pressed against his groin, and he gave a small yelp. Reno chuckled as he was completely slouched in the chair now and he wiggled his toes.

 _~dear Gaia, he’s never allowed to wear socks again~_

Reno grinned and looked over at Zack. He crossed his arms behind his neck. “Workin’ on dessert right now, yo.”

Cloud could see that Zack had some ice cream in those bowls and it was chocolate mint …

 _~my favourite~_

… but the toes that were massaging his groin was very distracting.

Zack snorted and stood watching them. Cloud felt his face turn red as he wiggled in his chair.

“I’ll save these for later,” Zack said and went back into the kitchen. Cloud chewed his lip as he looked at the mischievous-looking Reno. The redhead pressed his toes firmly against his hardening crotch.

“Stop it,” he moaned.

“Do you want me to?” Reno said and rubbed his foot up and down. “Really, yo?”

Cloud shook his head and wiggled more in his chair. The redhead usually waited for him and Zack to make the first move. Cloud thought that at times Reno still felt like he was the ‘third’ in their relationship. He wanted to make sure that he didn’t feel that way, and obviously it was working. “I would rather have some dessert,” Cloud finally got out.

Reno’s smile grew wider and he pressed more firmly against him, causing him to groan and lean forward in his chair. “What kind of dessert?” Reno looked like he was about to slide under the table with how low he was in his chair.

Cloud didn’t notice that Zack had returned and was standing behind him. He felt a warm weight behind him and arms roam down his chest. “I think we are all in the mood for something blond.”

Cloud snorted. “I don’t like blonds.”

Reno chuckled and removed his foot, and Cloud groaned at the absence of the touch. “Good thing we do, and it’s two against one, yo.”

Zack’s mouth was on his ear and nibbling on his lobe. Cloud moved his head to lean into the nibble and placed his hands on top of Zack’s which were roaming down to his belly now.

“I think I like where this is going,” Cloud whispered.

Zack hummed in his ear and he opened his blue eyes and saw that Reno had moved to the other side of him. He saw Reno reach over to run a hand across Zack’s shoulder and the other down his arm.

Zack let go of his ear with a gentle tug and Cloud looked up as Reno and Zack kissed. It was a deep, passionate kiss that he would never get tired of watching. They were gorgeous and he loved how they looked together. Their mouths would move as though they were trying to devour each other, and it was always a gentle fight for dominance.

“We need to move to the bedroom,” Cloud said, then moaned as he watched the kiss.

The two men slowly pulled away from each other, and both were panting. “Great idea.” Zack sounded breathless.

“Totally your night, Cloud,” Reno said as he leaned down and captured his lips. Cloud closed his eyes and leaned into it. Reno was demanding and pushed his tongue forward; Cloud opened his mouth to allow access. He felt himself being lifted from the chair by Zack’s hands while still attached to Reno’s lips. Zack’s mouth then traced along his neck and caused him to shiver, and a moan escaped him that he tried to suppress.

 _~I was never good at being quiet~_

Reno stopped kissing him and put his hands under his shirt and he felt Zack’s hands start to undo his pants as they shuffled towards the bedroom. Cloud reached out and tugged at the clothes of the men that surrounded him.

It didn’t take them long to lose all their clothing and stumble into the bedroom and fall into the bed, still kissing and touching each other.

Cloud let himself be positioned in the center of the bed, and Zack and Reno slid in beside him with their hands roaming his belly and legs and their mouths taking turns with his.

 _~but they are ignoring the most important part~_

He reached out to the men and stroked their arms and tried to guide their hands but they were stubborn and purposely were avoiding grabbing a hold of him. He gave a small cry at the neglect but it was swallowed by a kiss from Zack as Reno nibbled on his shoulder.

“I think he’s gettin’ a little impatient, yo,” Reno said and licked the area that he had been nibbling on.

 _~darn right~_

Zack let go of his lips. “I think so too,” he whispered. “Are you getting impatient, Cloud?”

Cloud rolled his eyes and groaned. “Zack, don’t tease.”

Zack purred and in a soft voice added, “I like it when you’re like this.”

Cloud could feel a sword-calloused hand move up his thigh and reach his hip while the other hand moved under his shoulders. Reno moved into a different position as well, but his attention became focused on Zack as his thick, hard erection pressed against his thigh.

 _~want~_

“Zack,” he moaned as he felt himself being lifted and moved. He blinked as he realized that Zack was placing himself behind him and that pillows had been propped up on the headboard for the dark-haired SOLDIER to lean against.

He wanted to turn to face Zack but his firm, strong arms kept him under their control and Cloud had no choice but to lean against him. The blond wiggled against the hard length pressed against the small of his back.

He saw where Reno had moved. He now held a bottle in his hands and was kneeling between his legs. “You seem ready enough,” Reno said as he flipped open the cap.

Cloud lolled his head back, resting it on Zack’s shoulder and let out an uncontrollable groan. Zack held him in place with one hand firmly around his waist and the other on his hip.

“Spread those legs,” Reno said, and Cloud obeyed as Reno moved closer.

 _~fuck~_

Zack breathed heavily by his ear. “Damn, you look so good.”

Cloud could hear the noises he was making as he tried to make words form, but Reno made him lose all chance of vocabulary with his actions. He looked down to see Reno’s tongue trace from the base of his cock and up to the weeping tip. It was a slow, teasing movement that made him squirm and twitch.

He bucked his hips as he tried to get Reno to do more. He hated when he would lose his ability to speak, and they always seemed to know what they were doing to him by this. They always moved so well together.

“Do you like that?” Zack whispered in his ear.

“Uh-huh,” he mumbled and Reno gave him another lick.

“We’re going to take care of you.” Zack moved to nibble on his shoulder again.

 _~they always do~_

Cloud got lost in the feeling of them ‘taking care of him.’ Roughened SOLDIER hands stroked his belly and hip, and his warm breath caressed his throat and ear. Soft lips and a slick tongue ran up and down his hard member, and hands stroked his legs to keep them apart. The motioned changed. The hand on his hip moved to the base of his cock and surrounded him. A finger probed him and he whimpered and shifted into the pressure.

He wanted more. He didn’t know what the men had in store for him, but he didn’t care. They would always take care of him and he knew that, he trusted them with everything.

“Damn it,” Reno muttered as he moved his finger inside of him.

 _~he’s picked up that habit from Zack~_

The pressure against his back twitched. He rolled against it and felt slickness there and he wanted it. “Please,” he whimpered as the finger inside of him bumped against the pleasant lump that was inside him.

“Already beggin’, eh?”

Cloud didn’t care. He wasn’t in the mood to play the teasing game. He wanted this. He wanted it all and if saying please got him it quicker, so be it. He felt the tension inside him grow as it felt so good.

 _~always felt good~_

He must have been wiggling too much because Zack’s grip increased. “Careful there, Cloudy,” Zack said with a hiss.

“D-don’t call me …” But the rest of his words were lost as Reno increased the speed of his fingers moving inside of him.

“You need to move him up.”

Cloud blinked and wondered who Reno was talking to until Zack’s hand released a hold of his dick. He was going to protest that until he was lifted so that Zack’s cock was now rubbing between his ass cheeks as Reno’s fingers slid out of him.

He let out a long moan at the loss and the new sensation. He watched as Reno reached for something on the side of the bed. He saw the condom and the bottle of lube there. He watched as the redhead opened the packet and tossed it aside.

Cloud watched down his body as Reno gave Zack’s cock a few tugs, causing the man to let out a grunt before Reno slid the condom on. He could feel the finger ghosting against his balls as the Turk did the teasing movements.

The only thing that kept him from wiggling was the fact that Zack had a firm hold around his waist.

“Ready to go, Cloudy,” Reno said and ran his hands up and down his spread legs.

“Don’t …” Cloud tried to talk again but Reno dipping his head and lightly nibbling on the head of his cock made him lose all thoughts again. He could hear Zack moaning in his ear.

“I want to be inside you.”

Cloud just nodded. He was more than ready for this.

Reno stopped the attention on his cock and spread Cloud’s legs a little wider. Cloud twisted but was steadied by four sets of hands until he felt the tip of Zack’s blunt head pressing against his entrance.

Cloud didn’t know if he was prepared enough. Reno didn’t play with him very long but he didn’t care. He tried to push down to encourage the entrance. Hands stopped him from moving again. He let out a strangled cry.

“Do you want it inside you, Cloudy?” Zack whispered and nibbled on his ear. “Do you?”

“Yes,” he breathed out as he felt the slick head pressing against his skin. “Please.”

“He’s very compliant today,” Reno said, but Cloud didn’t care. He wanted this. He wanted it so bad.

“Should we let him have it?”

 _~teasing~_

He let out a frustrated moan as Zack teased him.

“I think we should.”

“Really?”

“Yes!” Cloud yelled.

Zack laughed, but then …

 _~heaven~_

… he felt the pressure increase and Zack enter him.

He leaned back into Zack, arching and crying out. Then the warmth of a mouth covered his cock, sucking slowly as Zack filled him. He wanted to move but Zack wasn’t letting him. Reno’s suction was gentle and teasing as his tongue traced around the cap of his cock.

Cloud never thought about how vulnerable he was in this position until he couldn’t move. They were moving him and controlled him in every way, and he loved every moment of it.

Once Zack was fully seated inside of him, he stilled. Cloud panted and wanted him to move more but Reno’s mouth surrounding him stopped him from speaking again. Zack kissed his shoulder and whispered, “Are you ready for me to move?”

He nodded, not trusting his voice.

Reno stopped his action with his tongue and released his cock. He protested the lack of the wet warmth leaving him for a moment. “Reno,” he whimpered.

“Don’t worry, Cloudy,” Reno said as he moved up his body, tracing his hands up his thighs and tickling his sides.

“D-don’t call me Cloudy,” he whimpered, but he knew there was no conviction in his voice. Reno was now pressed up against him with his hands on his shoulders and kneeling between him. He leaned in for a kiss and Cloud let him lead. Reno was slow in the build up before he prodded him with his tongue that was demanding entrance. Cloud moaned and allowed it. He felt Zack’s arms surround them both as they kissed.

Reno pulled away from the kiss but remained pressed against his chest as he reached between their bodies and his hand brushed his belly. The simple touch made him shiver.

“Ready?” Zack whispered and his voice sounded strained.

Cloud nodded.

Zack started to move. Cloud knew he was getting really loud again. He was thankful that Zack had his own apartment or otherwise it would be devastatingly embarrassing. Zack always hit every spot just right.

 _~wish I could control how loud I get~_

He felt a warm and slick hand grab hold of his member and watched as familiar warmth was pressed against him. He looked down as he watched Reno rub their members together and kept a warm lube-slicked hand in steady strokes.

His mind went blank and a single word tumbled out of his mouth, “Fuck.”

“That’s what I’m doing,” Zack grunted and thrust his hips forward in a steady and firm manner and Reno matched the motions.

Reno said something but Cloud didn’t understand it. He was too far gone in the dual pleasure of being filled and being stroked. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever. Hand stroking him and holding him in place, lips caressing his shoulder or cheek, slickness making every feeling perfect.

Reno nibbled on his ear and tugged. “I want more,” Reno whispered as he racked his teeth against his lobe. Zack’s movements eased slightly as he slowed down as well. Cloud growled in frustration.

 _~what more could they want?~_

“More?” Zack asked as his lips tugged on the other lobe. Cloud tried to move but both men had them completely under his control. He didn’t like them both stopping their movements.

“Keep moving,” Cloud gasped out.

Reno chuckled and released him. Cloud whimpered and bucked his hips to try to get that friction back. “Easy,” Zack said and ran his hands up and down his sides. “There is no need to rush.”

 _~want more~_

“How ‘bout we try somethin’ new,” Reno whispered. He wanted to yell at him and tell him that he wanted them to move again. Zack was too still and Reno was playing with his much-too-tense balls.

“More,” Cloud panted.

“Of course,” Zack whispered in his ear.

Then Cloud felt Reno’s fingers caressing around his entrance and stroking Zack there and applying more lube.

“Quit teasing!” Cloud demanded and tried to get them to start moving again.

“As you wish,” Reno said and that was when he felt a finger move along side of Zack’s cock inside of him. Zack’s grip increased on his hips to keep him still.

“How’s that?” Reno asked as he pushed further inside him.

Cloud went blind. He gasped for breath as he twisted against the added intrusion. Zack bit his ear a little harder than he intended and he had to move away from the bite. “What …” Cloud started to say and then let out a moan that he didn’t know he could make.

 _~I’m going to die~_

“Reno,” Zack whimpered. “What are you doing?”

“Joinin’ ya,” Reno said. Cloud got his vision back and could see the devious smirk on Reno’s face. Cloud could feel himself stretching more than he had ever felt before and for a moment he didn’t know if he could take it. “Start movin’ again.”

Zack started to move again, much slower than before and Reno’s fingers remained inside of him.

He frantically reached out and pawed at Reno’s arm. “Do ya want me to stop, yo?” There was concern in his voice, and Cloud shook his head. He wasn’t sure about it. It was different and the two different movements inside of him — the fingers and Zack’s cock — were conflicting and he didn’t know how to process it.

It didn’t hurt but he was feeling stretched more than he was used to. He wasn’t a stranger to this situation …

 _~Zack’s toy drawer sure gets a workout~_

… but this was a little more.

“Damn it, Reno,” Zack panted, “That feels good.” Zack started to kiss his neck. “Does that feel good, Cloudy?”

Zack thrust sharply in and the fingers inside of him moved almost out and then the feeling reversed. He must have been making some sort of sound of approval because Zack chuckled into his ear. “I take that as a yes.”

 _~oh, so fucking a yes~_

He pawed at the men as they started to move at a steadier pace. Zack would push in and then Reno’s fingers would slide out, and then it would be reversed.

Reno said something but he didn’t hear it. He felt an increase in the pressure as Reno must have added another finger.

They both stopped moving. “Breathe,” Zack whispered in his ear.

He didn’t realize he had stopped breathing and took in a big gulp. He looked at Reno who was giving him a concerned look. “Should I stop?”

Cloud shook his head. He didn’t want to stop. He tried to move his hips but they were holding him securely. “Reno,” he moaned. He was getting an idea of what Reno wanted to do and he was torn between being scared and overexcited.

“Jus’ tell me when to stop,” Reno said and he started the movements again. Zack and Reno’s pace resumed. It was slower than before but he felt so much more. Maybe it was the anticipation of what he thought Reno’s plan was.

Zack’s hands ran down his sides. “Easy, Cloudy,” Zack whispered even though his voice sounded strained again. “Relax,” he whispered and ran his tongue up his jaw.

Reno moved forward and captured his lips. He kissed him gently, and was undemanding, but it calmed him down as he got used to the sensations of pleasure that was overwhelming him.

Reno’s lips left his and he sat back slightly. Zack stilled as well.

 _~why do they keep stopping!~_

Zack moved his hands across his belly and caressed him and held him firmly in place. “Kiss me, Cloudy,” Zack whispered and Cloud turned his head to the side and captured his mouth. Zack resumed his motions but Reno removed his fingers. He whined but Zack continued the kiss and wouldn’t let him go.

He felt Reno move away from him and he tried to see where he was going and ask what he was doing, but he was effectively trapped by Zack.

 _~where’s Reno going?~_

He felt the tell-tale tension building in his stomach but didn’t want to come quite yet. Zack slowed, as if he was realizing that he was close. He felt hands on his legs again and he was released from the kiss. He looked at Reno, who look flushed.

“You let me know if it’s too much,” Reno said with a voice was thick with concern. “Both of you.”

Cloud stared down at Reno and saw that he had put on a condom. He groaned but spread his legs wider to allow him easy entrance. Zack whispered in his ear, “Breathe, Cloudy.”

“Fuck, you have no idea how hot this looks,” Reno whispered as he took himself in his hand and moved forward. Cloud felt the tip of it press against his already full entrance.

Zack groaned in his ear. “Oh, I got a pretty good view from here.”

Cloud wished he had enough sense to tell them both to shut up and just get on with it. Reno pushed forward and gave out a grunt. Cloud whimpered. Reno was substantially larger than his fingers. He slowed and asked if it was alright to continue. He just nodded, and arched his back. They couldn’t hold him completely still and he didn’t want them to remain still either.

 _~how can it get better every time we are together?~_

Reno took forever to get inside to join Zack. It was slow and teasing and Cloud thought he was going to burst. “Still good?” Reno asked as he rested his arms on his shoulders and looking at him with such care and concern.

“Yes,” Cloud managed to get out. “Move before I go mad.”

Both men chuckled but he couldn’t tell them anything as they started to move. He knew he cried out and hands held him still as a pace was found; one moving in and the other moving out in slow, steady thrusts.

It was the most intense feeling he had ever felt in his life as they most certainly were taking good care of him.

He could no longer hold off his orgasm as the tension in his belly increased to levels that they had never reached before.

He arched his back, or at least tried to, but strong arms and a limber body held him in place as he cried out. He felt the wet warmth spread against his and Reno’s body and heard Reno grunt and still against him.

The feeling of two men twitching inside him would be a feeling that he would never forget.

 _~so damn perfect~_

They panted together as they came down from the rush of the orgasm that claimed them. Cloud opened his eyes and smiled contently at Reno who was doing the same. Zack’s arms tightened around them and they stayed like that for a few more moments before Cloud twisted a little in discomfort.

Reno pulled out first with a small hiss as he leaned back. “I’ll get the towel, yo,” he whispered and moved away, looking a little awkward as he did so. Cloud didn’t make fun of him as Zack shifted and slid out of him as well. He groaned as he moved over to the side and tried not to get the mess on his stomach on the sheets.

Reno returned with the damp cloth and they cleaned themselves off between kisses and caresses.

Cloud snuggled against Zack’s chest, quite content with how the day had ended. “Not mad at us anymore, Cloudy?” Zack asked.

“Quit calling me that,” he grumbled and pushed against his chest.

Reno leaned into him. “You like it,” Reno said and kissed him. He pulled away from the kiss and Reno chuckled at his action.

“I hate it,” Cloud said. “You two can stop it.”

Zack chuckled. “I can call you ‘Cupcake’ again.”

Cloud frowned. “Don’t you dare.”

“I liked ‘Pumpkin’, personally,” Reno said.

Cloud pushed himself up against the headboard and looked at the two amused faces with sparkling blue eyes looked back at him.

He crossed his arms and pulled a blanket around his waist. “Fine, whatever,” he mumbled. “I want dessert now.”

“We just had dessert, yo,” Reno said and moved beside him and Cloud didn’t stop him from wrapping his arms around him.

“I want ice cream with chocolate syrup,” Cloud said.

Zack shook his head. “The ice cream is chocolate mint.” Zack moved to his other side and smoothed out his hair. He knew that it must be messy again.

 _~tussled is better than shocked~_

“We don’t need the syrup,” Zack continued.

 _~ I love it when Zack doesn’t get it~_

Cloud reached down and squeezed Zack’s thigh with one hand and Reno’s with the other.

Reno groaned and leaned against him. “Yo, don’t argue with the man.” Reno pressed his lips against his throat and his hand wandered across his belly. “He wants dessert, let’s give him dessert.”

Zack looked puzzled for a moment and as Reno’s hands continued to wander across his belly, the look changed into a look of realization, and a large, silly grin appeared on his face.

“Be right back,” Zack said and quickly darted from the room.

“Make sure you bring the ice cream too,” Cloud called, “I want that too.”

“Sure thing, Cloudy!” Zack yelled.

He growled and Reno chuckled at him. “Just here, yo,” Reno said. “I won’t call you that in public.”

“You better not,” Cloud mumbled, “or I’ll start calling you …”

 _~what would I call him?~_

“… Foxy.”

Reno laughed. “Whatever, Cloudy.”

Zack came running back in the room with the bowls of ice cream held to his belly and the bottle of syrup under an arm with that grin on his face.

“I got the rest of the dessert.”


	58. Crisis

**Warning**  
A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno. Yaoi.   
**Pre-Author’s Note**  
Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…  
Things are starting to change around Shin-Ra. Everyone is feeling a little tense.  
 **Disclaimer**  
Don’t own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.   


* * *

  


# CRISIS

  


* * *

The announcement and change was abrupt. He knew that his half-brother had been planning something, but all the information that was coming to light told him that the former Director’s plans were bigger than he anticipated.

 _~we are more alike than I first thought~_

He absently stroked the head of Dark Nation as she nuzzled next to him in his bed. He hadn’t moved from this position since he got the notice and didn’t know what to make of it. He had been thinking and trying to see if this change had any effect on his own plans.

“You can’t just lie in bed.”

He looked up to see Reeve standing in the doorway to his bedroom. He groaned and buried his face into his pillow. He didn’t want to get up and out of bed and deal with things just yet.

It was good that Lazard was out of the direct way of him taking over the company, but now he had to worry about his indirect interference.

 _~and he is most likely with Genesis~_

That pissed him right off.

His brother joining Genesis in defection and trying to bring the company down was a twist that he had not been expecting. But then, if he had talked to Genesis about his plans, he may have been able to use him to bring control of the company to him while he was still here.

He still didn’t understand Genesis’ motivation in leaving and doubted that he ever would. The man was way too complex for him to understand.

“Rufus, there are things to be reorganized. You need to get out of bed,” Reeve said in a more demanding voice.

Dark Nation made a small yipping noise and he could feel her cold nose on the back of his neck. He squirmed away from her nose and pushed her. “Nation,” he whimpered. “You are supposed to be on my side.”

 _~I think we need to get her more training to listen better~_

“She knows that you are supposed to be getting out of bed. We have a crisis on our hands and your aid is needed to help fill the gaps that are being left behind,” Reeve said.

“It isn’t like my father will listen to my suggestions anyway,” Rufus said bitterly as he sat up in bed. Dark Nation stood, giving a languid stretch before bounding off to rub herself against Reeve.

He watched Reeve scratch behind her ear and tentacle as she started to grumble; it was her version of a purr. “If you do not show up and make suggestions, your father will not even be able to reject your idea.”

 _~he hated it when Reeve was right~_

He watched as Reeve clipped on a leash to Dark Nation’s collar and then looked up at him. “I will ensure that your breakfast is ready in half an hour. That should allow you plenty of time to shower and change before we start the day.”

He was about to complain, but Reeve raised his hand to silence him. “You can not change anything sleeping your life away and feeling sorry for yourself in bed. You will get up and greet the day.”

He really hated it when Reeve did that. He couldn’t retaliate as Reeve led Dark Nation out of his bedroom. Rufus had no choice but to obey him. He always used logic against him and there was no way of arguing with him about it.

It didn’t help that he was right. He couldn’t stay in bed and mull things over. He had to get out and start laying claim to the gaps that Lazard left behind to make things go his way.

He had to now fight his half-brother outside of the company, as he was most likely in cahoots with Hollander and Genesis now. He had to determine what that meant for him and his own plans.

It could be disastrous. He had played over a few negative scenarios in his head, which was why he didn’t want to leave his bed. All of them were leading to his death or being hurt really bad. He didn’t like those thoughts and he was trying to think of other ways to achieve his goal.

He hated having to rethink his plans all because of his stupid half-brother.

Maybe his father would see him as an asset now as he was the one that was staying behind. His legitimate child was still helping him run the company and to make the Shin-Ra empire great. They may have had different ideas on how to do that, but he at least wanted the company to continue.

He was pretty sure that Lazard wanted the company brought down for his own personal, selfish reasons.

Rufus crawled out of bed and started to shed his pyjamas as he walked to his bathroom to have a shower and prepare for the day.

He knew it was going to be a nasty day of meetings and reallocation of resources. He was not worried about SOLDIER though. The other executives could fight over it as far as he was concerned. SOLDIER was a dead program. Bio-SOLDIERs with their own thoughts and enhancements were not the wave of the future as the scientists touted.

 _~they fail no matter what side they are on~_

He didn’t care for the constant failure of the robots either. He wanted Scarlet gone as soon as possible to get rid of the problem of having to deal with her, but knew that was impossible as long as his father was around.

 _~he likes his benefits from her being around too much~_

The better option was to refine the Turks and no one else saw that. They were people and flawed but they could also be trained to be loyal to him and the company. He knew, despite their differences and a conflict, Tseng was loyal to him. There were a few enigmas. He didn’t know about Rude, but the man was loyal to Tseng and obviously to Cissnei.

People could be used when they had people they cared about near them.

 _~and didn’t have the crazy injected in them like the SOLDIERs~_

He crawled into his shower and turned it on as hot as he could plot and ponder.

But there was the enigma that was Reno; the first person to ever shun him. He rubbed his throat even though the bruise was long gone from the attack. He was glad that he wore a turtleneck most of the time so that he didn’t have to explain it to anyone.

Reeve saw it and asked him, but he just told him that he had a little mishap with Dark Nation and it was left at that. He suspected that Reeve knew more, but the other man was kind enough to keep it to himself at the moment.

The gifts Rufus sent were not returned so that was a good sign, but Reno was still elusive to him. Tseng warned him not to interfere with him again as he was in a relationship. Being in a relationship with Sephiroth certainly couldn’t stay stable for long.

Sephiroth was a cold, unfeeling man and had learned that from Genesis.

 _~maybe Genesis lied to you~_

He doubted that, though. Genesis was always a passionate man and he wore his heart on his sleeve. It was always enjoyable getting him worked up and making him beg for more.

 _~he’s gone and is trying to destroy the company you want to take over~_

Genesis confused him so much. In one action, he told him that he cared for him and to take care of himself, and in the next he was trying to destroy everything that Rufus was striving for.

The former SOLDIER did not make any sense and now he was in league with his brother.

Rufus scrubbed his hair as he tried to figure out what this change really meant for him. He would talk about this with Reeve. Reeve always had insights as to what to do with these types of things.

He knew he was spending too long in the shower but he needed more time to think about this situation. How was he going to deal with this Genesis and Lazard situation?

The water got cold as he tried to plot and think about what had to be done next. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped himself in his housecoat before he walked back into the bedroom. Dark Nation was back on his bed and he sighed as he watched her sprawl out and nearly cover the whole queen-sized bed. She was already snoring.

Reeve had fed her and she was having her after-breakfast snooze. She didn’t even twitch as he walked over to his closet and pulled out a suit to wear for the day.

He was half-dressed with the door opened and Reeve stood at the entrance. He was still putting on his Kevlar-lined undershirt as the older man came over holding a cup of coffee.

“You are slower than you normally are,” Reeve said as he handed him the cup.

Rufus took it from him and cradled it for a moment before he took a grateful sip and sighed at how good the first sip in the morning tasted. “I have a lot to think about,” Rufus said as he took another drink.

“I am sure you do,” Reeve said with a chuckle. “The meetings will start in an hour to discuss the continued crisis.”

Rufus knew he was right. They may not listen to his ideas and thoughts, but he would hear their’s. It was important to have all sides of the story. Information was power and he knew that well and had already used it to his advantage.

Reeve knew that as well, and he could see it in the man’s eyes.

“At least I won’t have to deal with Lazard any longer and hopefully things will go more smoothly from here,” Rufus said as he placed his cup aside and grabbed his black vest that he wore as an extra protective layer. Reeve had provided him with the design for the clothes to protect him after the first attempt on his life. It was a lot of clothes to wear and it got in the way at times, but it was better than getting shot or cut.

“Good boy,” Reeve said and looked over at Dark Nation. “I shall wake up your guardian and we shall get there early.”

 _~I am not a boy anymore~_

“You planned this,” Rufus said as he worked his buttons.

The older man gave him a gentle smile. “I know you too well, Rufus. We don’t want to miss the pre-meeting gossip,” Reeve said as he sipped his own coffee and walked over to the bed to give it a kick. He watched as Dark Nation grumbled and growled, but there was no threat in it.

Rufus almost laughed, but refrained. It was undignified to laugh. “Is Reno going to be at the meeting?” He grabbed his white coat and checked the pockets before putting it on. He had to make sure that he had his guns in the slots on the inside where they were easy to grasp with the flick of a wrist.

Reeve shook his head. “You would be wise to stop such games,” Reeve said his usual piece. He did not approve of any of his relationships.

 _~at least he cares enough about them~_

“I’m not playing games,” Rufus said as he slipped his jacket over his shoulders and looked at how it sat in the mirror. He brushed off some imaginary lint and made sure the lines of the coat fell correctly.

“Reno is dangerous and so are his friends.”

“I’m not scared of Sephiroth.”

“Sephiroth is not the one you need to be afraid of,” Reeve said in his knowing way. He waited for him to say more, but he leaned forward and he ruffled the ears of Dark Nation. “Right, girl? Right?”

“Who should I be afraid of? Tseng?” Rufus scoffed.

“I would be wary of him, but not afraid. Reno has a lot of friends, Rufus. You seem to be missing some information that is vital before you proceed with that line of thought.” Reeve smiled at him but his dark-brown eyes were telling him something different.

Reeve always knew what was going on, often more than a Turk.

He knew if he asked out-right he would be ignored and Reeve would laugh it off and tell him to be careful with whose toes he stepped on.

 _~It’s annoying at times~_

“I’m aware of who my enemies are,” Rufus said in a defensive manner. He had this conversation with Reeve about every six months, and he wondered where he was going with it this time.

“You’re only aware of some of your enemies,” Reeve said still scratching the ears of Dark Nation. “You underestimate the others.”

The Vice-President narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “What are you saying? Is there others I should be worrying about?”

 _~I do not like veiled threats~_

“With Lazard leaving a vacancy, there will be a scramble to fill that role and the role of Lazard had changed.” Reeve walked over to him and put his hands on his shoulders. “You should think about changing your role as well.”

“My role? My role is the Vice-President of Shin-Ra. My role is to become the President and make this company even more powerful than my father could ever do. That is my role. Why would I change it?” Rufus said and started to feel annoyed.

 _~I hate it when he gets all cryptic~_

“I worry what the future holds for you, Rufus.” Reeve’s hands squeezed his shoulders. “If you continue down the path you are going, I’m afraid you’re going to be lost.”

Rufus narrowed his eyes and pushed the hands off of his shoulders. “I’m not a boy anymore, Reeve.” He stalked over to the bed and snapped his fingers, and Dark Nation bounded down. “I know the path I have to follow.”

He heard Reeve sigh but he ignored him.

“I’m hungry,” Rufus said as he straightened his coat again. “Did you say breakfast was ready?”

Reeve nodded, “Of course.” He started to walk behind him. “While we eat, I will fill you in on all that happened so far.”

“Are you going to continue to speak in riddles?” Rufus asked as he noted that a meal was already placed on his counter; a simple bagel with cream cheese, toasted, and a small bowl of berries and a glass of orange juice.

 _~bagel better still be warm~_

“I’m done for today,” Reeve said. “Sit down and eat and I shall talk to you about the conditions of Lazard leaving and what I found in his office.”

Rufus sat down at his normal stool and took a drink of his juice and wished he remembered his coffee. But as Reeve talked, he seemed to sense his distress at the lack of caffeine and fetched him another cup. He listened to Reeve’s deep voice as he learned some new things about his half-brother, his conditions of leaving and the indications of what his plans were.

 _~and a little more about Genesis too~_

* * *

……………………..

Zack felt lost.

Sephiroth stood staring out the window, looking like a statue at the setting sun over the reactors. He had seen him doing that a lot lately and it was starting to scare him.

“This is not going well,” Sephiroth said.

Zack remembered what Sephiroth told him in the hall a couple days ago. He wondered if he was close to his breaking point.

 _~I don’t want him to leave too~_

“Do you think Lazard had this planned the whole time?” Zack said as he looked at the messy stack of papers on Sephiroth’s desk. The General had been reading stuff all night again. Zack would rather be in his comfortable apartment and warm bed than to be dealing with the chaos that was surrounding all of Shin-Ra.

Lazard was already gone. There were more sightings of Genesis clones and large consequences coming from this latest defection.

The pictures of the ever-mutating clones sat open on the desk, as well as a picture of Genesis as he looked when his identification card was made. There had been another picture there as he walked into the office, but Sephiroth had hid it in his desk. He got a good look at it as Sephiroth’s fingers traced over the edges of it before he hid in a drawer, thinking that he hadn’t seen.

The picture showed Sephiroth standing beside Angeal on a day that looked bright and sunny. On the other side of Angeal, Genesis stood looking healthy, strong and proud. They were wearing casual clothes and there seemed to be real smiles on all their faces.

They were standing in an orchard that he remembered walking through with nervous trepidation as he tried to remember his mentor’s words about the trees. He remembered witnessing the vibrant greens being consumed by red flames and the smell of burning apples that filled the air as he boarded the helicopter, and they flew away.

He would never forget that day.

 _~Angeal said he always felt like he was in the middle of the two~_

“Most likely,” Sephiroth said and turned towards him. He had never seen Sephiroth look so tired; there were dark circles under his eyes and his shoulders dropped as he stood there.

Zack reached out and touched Sephiroth’s shoulder.

Sephiroth jerked away from his touch as though he were burned and turned back to the window. Zack could see him stiffen as he looked out onto the glowing mako stacks. “Things are going to get worse before they get better.”

“Are you okay?” Zack asked, moving beside the Silver General to try to look at his face but noticed that he was hiding behind his hair again.

“I’m fine,” Sephiroth said.

 _~that’s becoming his favourite saying~_

“Are you sure?” Zack whispered and leaned against the window so that he could see Sephiroth’s face. He sure didn’t look fine.

“We will move past this crisis and then we can gain a semblance of normalcy again,” Sephiroth said. “Stability must be regained.”

Zack frowned. “Everything sure has gone to shit and it would be nice if everything would go back to normal around here.”

Sephiroth made a small sound of agreement. “Some calmness would help ease one’s nerves.”

“Wanna drink?” Zack asked. He still had the bottle of rye hiding in his desk and was more than willing to get it. The day was filled with dealing with fellow SOLDIERs and management, who did not know what to do or what the future would hold for them within the company. Sephiroth had been spending most of his day with the Science Department with what remained of the SOLDIERs.

 _~he’s not getting any rest~_

“No.” Sephiroth slouched and ran his hand over his face. “I think it is time to retire for the evening.”

“Are you going to be able to sleep?” Zack doubted that he had slept for more than a few hours at a time. Sephiroth had been spending more time reading at his desk or in the archives. He never asked what he was looking for, but it consumed him completely. “You really need to sleep.”

Sephiroth nodded as he turned back to the window. He raised his hand and touched the glass as his green eyes seemed to glow even more as they focused on the stacks. “You know, Genesis called those streamers of mako, ‘Goddess Tears’.”

“I didn’t know that.”

Sephiroth’s eyes slipped closed and he rested his head against the glass. “He did say that there always would be consequences for hurting Minerva. I thought he was being spiritual.” Sephiroth’s gloved hands formed into fists as he pressed them against the glass. “He was so difficult to understand,” he whispered, and Zack assumed that he was not meant to hear that part.

“Want me to walk you to your room?” Zack asked. He was really concerned. Sephiroth looked like he was dead on his feet and if he was talking about Genesis, he knew that it was going to be a bad situation.

“I’m fine, Zackary.”

 _~I hate it when he calls me that~_

“If you say so.” Zack let his doubt colour his voice as he spoke. Sephiroth opened his eyes and pushed himself away from the window, his arms crossing his belly and his hands gripping his elbows.

Sephiroth was framed by the window and the green seemed to colour his hair and whiten his skin. He didn’t look healthy at all.

 _~he really needs to sleep~_

“I say so,” Sephiroth said as he moved from the window and frowned at the array of pictures on his desk.

“Well, I’m not leaving until you are passed out and snoring on the couch or you are safely stored in your bedroom,” Zack said. “Don’t you dare protest! You need to take care of yourself, Sephiroth. We need you here.”

Sephiroth stood silent for a moment as though contemplating his words. “I think we are done this evening,” Sephiroth whispered and looked at the stack of pictures on his desk. “I will take your advice and retire for the evening, Zackary.”

“Good,” Zack said. “You want to get a beer?”

Sephiroth shook his head. “Don’t you have people to go back to?”

He noted that Sephiroth was hiding behind his hair again and not looking at his eyes.

“Yeah, but you don’t need to be alone either,” Zack said and tried to reach out again. Sephiroth moved out of his reach and started to head out the door. Zack frowned at how stiff Sephiroth was walking away as he left down the hall, leaving the door open as he went.

The dark-haired SOLDIER shook his head and looked at the desk again. He started to sort through the files and put them in the proper folders so that Sephiroth would not have to look at the pictures in the morning when he returned to the office.

He did have something to go back to. Cloud was waiting for him and if he was lucky, so was Reno. Reno was pretty busy with running around doing Turk stuff at the moment, but he could be off and most likely would wake up with him pressing against his back in the morning.

 _~Reno often sneaks in like that~_

He continued to straighten the files and put them in order before he left the office. Zack wasn’t a fool. He knew things were going to be busy in the next couple weeks with Lazard leaving.

He knew that there was going to be a lot of missions that would take him away, but that was the price he paid to be in SOLDIER; to be the hero that he always strived to be. He contemplated of going into the drawer and pull out the picture that Sephiroth was looking at before.

 _~if I can make him remember the good times he had~_

He didn’t though. He let it stay in the drawer and let Sephiroth decide when he wanted to remember the good times.

He needed to go back home and rest himself.

* * *

Cloud was exhausted. He could barely move his arms from carrying supplies over his head for most of the day and running non-stop.

 _~I don’t even remember what I was doing~_

He just blindly followed orders and did whatever was asked of him. There was no time for joking; there was no time for playing. It was just do, go and do it faster.

He just about didn’t go up to Zack’s apartment like he promised, but the thought of a quiet bed without a million men around him snoring and groaning about their pains was worth the trek. He took advantage of having a boyfriend having his own apartment by using his shower, eating leftovers from the fridge and collapsing in the bed and passing completely out.

He didn’t wake until he felt something warm move in behind him. Large hands rested on his sides and he felt a soft kiss place against his cheek. “Go back to sleep,” Zack whispered.

“Is Reno here yet?” he asked sleepily and pushed back into the warm embrace that Zack was offering. It felt good to be held after such a hellish day.

“He’s being run ragged by Tseng, I’m sure,” Zack said with a chuckle. Cloud closed his eyes and sighed contently as he was surrounded by the extra warmth that Zack offered. He wanted to ask a few more questions about how his day went, but he was too exhausted to get the words out, and just ended up mumbling incoherently.

Zack chuckled and ran his hands over his stomach. “We’ll talk in the morning,” Zack whispered as he settled behind him.

Cloud agreed with that statement as he allowed the comfort of the bedroom and Zack to lull him back into a deep sleep.

* * *

Reno wanted to kill someone.

 _~the moron in the chair would be a good start~_

It would have been nice to pull out his EMR and stuff it down the throat of the prisoner. The guy was not talking and this was supposed to be easy to deal with. He hated interrogation. It was the worst part of the job because he didn’t have the tact that Tseng had when it came to finessing information out of an individual.

The guy was supposed to know something about Lazard and Hollander, but he was not getting anything out of him but pure and simple frustration. He much preferred to beat the shit out of them and leave them to bleed. It was easier to deal with than trying to talk to a moron.

Rude rested his hand on his shoulder and pushed him towards the door. “Coffee,” was all that he said as he put himself between him and the man in the chair.

“Yeah, yeah,” Reno grumbled, “I can take a hint, yo.” Reno pressed the button to be let out of the room and was grateful that the door opened right away. He opened it sharply and slammed it behind him.

Cissnei stood there already holding two large cups.

He sighed heavily. “I love ya, babe.”

“Just take the coffee. I’ll go in with Rude now.” She rolled her eyes and handed him a cup. He gratefully took the coffee and went into the observation room to watch them through the window.

He hated the guy, even though he didn’t say a word to them other than, ‘fuck you’ and ‘got nothin’ to say to ya’. The slum asshole was getting on his nerves to no end.

He seemed to perk up when Cissnei walked into the room and he was blatantly staring at her and made the biggest mistake of his life. He heard the man’s nasally snort as he leaned back and gave Cissnei the eye and said, “So, are ya my conjugal visit?”

Cissnei didn’t even get to pass off the coffee to Rude. Rude stood in his chair, grabbed the man’s shoulder and smashed his fist into his face, sending the prisoner flying to the floor and knocked him unconscious.

“Rude!” she yelled. “We can’t ask him questions if you kill him!”

Reno snickered as he watched Rude turn back and look sheepishly over at her.

 _~he’s so pussy-whipped~_

Cissnei looked down at the man on the floor. Reno could no longer see him as he was out of line of sight. “Great, it looks like you broke his jaw,” she snorted. “Way to go.”

“Oops,” Rude said.

She rolled her eyes. “Well, at least that means we are done for the day,” she said and sipped the coffee that was in her hand. It looked like Rude was trying to reach for it but it appeared that she was not going to relinquish it now. “You can drag him down to the prison medical ward and fill out the injury paperwork.” She turned to the door and pressed the buzzard to unlock it. Reno reached over from his chair and pressed the button to let her out. “And you will explain it to Tseng why you broke his jaw.”

He took a drink of his own coffee as he watched her prop the door open. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Night, Sissy,” he called from his chair.

He was greeted by a finger as she left the area without so much of another word.

“Ya need help there, partner?” he called.

He could see Rude shoulder’s slump slightly as he was looking at the man on the floor that he had just injured. Reno walked to the door and looked at the mess Rude made. “Shit man,” Reno whispered. The only thing that was visible to tell where the nose had been was an area of small bubbles that were rising out of the bloody mess.

“He pissed me off,” Rude said as he looked at his gloved hand and frowned at the blood there.

“No shit, yo,” Reno said as he kicked the leg of the downed man. He highly doubted the man was going to be of any use for information by the time they healed him up, but there were protocols to follow. “I’ll drag his bony ass down, you start the paperwork.”

He took another drink of his coffee and Rude grunted. “She took my coffee.”

Reno rolled his eyes at his partner and handed him his coffee. “Deal with the sugar, yo.” He knew that Rude liked his with just milk. Rude gladly took the coffee and took a big drink of it, then grumbled about how there was too much sugar.

“Ya know, she can take care of herself,” Reno said as he crouched down beside the bloody, unconscious man.

“I know,” Rude said. “Just reacted.”

“She’s gonna be pissed at ya when you get back,” Reno said as he hoisted the man up.

~he’s heavier than he looks~

Reno grunted as he started to drag the man out of the room. He looked over to Rude, who, even with his dark glasses, was glaring at the man he was dragging.

“Cissnei will beat ya with my EMR if you kill him, yo,” Reno said as he continued to walk backwards out of the room. “Bastard’s heavier than he looks.”

“Bastard deserved it,” Rude said as he started out the door.

Reno rolled his eyes as he continued to drag the creep. He was beginning to regret not offering to do the paperwork.

“You got him?” Rude rumbled as he started to pull the video tape information off one of the machines.

“Got him,” Reno said as he looked over at a wheelchair that was nearby and moved to haul him into it.

 _~it’s not like it’s the first time that I had to take a guy to the medics~_

Reno strapped the douche in the chair and some of the blood splattered on his shirt and he frowned at the mess the guy was making. “Sure bleeds a lot,” he muttered as he started to wheel the chair around. He called out to Rude who looked like he had finished gathering the surveillance data and was getting ready to start the paperwork.

“Need to go for a drink after?” Reno called as he scrubbed at the blood that was on his shirt.

 _~It was a new shirt too~_

Rude shook his head. “Gonna take care of Cissnei.”

Reno laughed as he popped the chair up on its hind wheels and the occupant flopped backwards. “You’re so whipped.”

Rude grunted. “Did you get Cloud’s message?”

Reno allowed the chair to fall back down, causing the man to fall forward with a jarring jerk as Reno searched his jacket for his cell phone.

 _~why didn’t he say that Cloud phoned earlier?~_

Rude walked beside him and stood hovering over him as he went through his messages. He did not see anything from Cloud or Zack all day.

“Who’s pussy-whipped now?”

He frowned and scowled at Rude who was looking too smug for his own good. He slipped his phone back in his pocket. “Very funny, hardy-har-har,” Reno mocked. “Yer a frickin’ riot, partner.”

“You know it,” Rude said. “Get him out of here before he wakes up or dies.”

Reno started to roll down the hall with Rude walking beside him. He hated it when Rude made a point like that.

 _~because he’s right~_

And the worse part of it all — he didn’t really have a problem with it. He liked getting texts from either Zack or Cloud. He liked getting the attention from them and always missed them when they were gone. He was just as bad as Rude was with Cissnei.

Reno continued to the elevator so he could roll the guy to the basement. Rude continued on the stairs with his pile of papers. He wanted to get rid of this waste of skin and then he wanted to go home.

 _~Zack’s apartment~_

That was where they always went. They sometimes gathered at his place, but that was rare. They always ended up at Zack’s, especially when days were like today. It was nearly four in the morning and he was ready to go to bed. He knew he wouldn’t get much time with them, but he hoped for an hour or two snuggled up next to one of his SOLDIERs while they all slept before the day of chaos struck again and they had to deal with another crisis.

The elevator dinged and he pushed the guy in. The prisoner was starting to wake up and by the time the door was closed, Reno was hoping that he could pop him one to get him to shut up. Only one eye opened and the guy gave him a gargling complaint.

“I wouldn’t recommend talkin’, yo,” Reno growled threateningly. “I didn’t get ta hit ya yet.”

The guy said nothing and Reno was slightly disappointed. He already had blood on his clothes; it wouldn’t bother him to get a little more on him. Reno was even more disappointed when the eye that he could see rolled back in his head and he passed out again.

The elevator door opened and he wheeled the injured man down the hall. He saw Tseng standing at one of the desks, holding his phone to his ear and writing something on a clipboard.

Tseng looked up and frowned. Reno was going to be given shit for beating up the guy and it wasn’t his fault. Well, the guy was scum and it wouldn’t be the first time that he was blamed for something that wasn’t his fault.

“You were supposed to question him,” Tseng said as he flipped his phone shut, “not destroy his face.”

“Had nothin’ to do with that, yo,” Reno said. “Rude got carried away. He’s doin’ the paperwork now.”

“Rude got carried away?” Tseng’s voice sounded like he didn’t believe him.

 _~Rude only gets carried away with explosives~_

“Guy called Cissnei a slut,” Reno explained quickly.

Tseng looked at the man in the chair and then back up at him. “Get him in a room and a doctor looking at him. I’ll talk to him when he is medically fit,” Tseng said and Reno watched him jump slightly as his phone rang.

 _~Tseng doesn’t jump~_

“You okay, Bossman?”

Tseng nodded slowly and let out a sigh. “It has been a long day and it doesn’t appear to be getting any shorter.”

“Yo, make sure you take care of yourself too,” Reno said as he patted the matt of the scumbag’s hair. “You need to sleep, too, yo.”

“I will catch a couple hours. He won’t be available for questioning for a little while,” Tseng said as the phone chirped loudly again. “Goodnight, Reno.”

Reno watched Tseng answer the phone and just listen to whomever was on the other end. He let it go. This was, after all, what Turks did best. They moved and reacted during a crisis, and they were damn busy with this one. They tried to get the answers to stop it, and that was just what they were going to do.

He hoped that he would get at least an hour of reprieve with his SOLDIERs before the end of these days or else he didn’t know how well he would be handling everything. He wanted to make sure that they were okay too so that he could make it through another day like this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always think Reeve know more than he lets on. He is such a smart sneaky guy. Rufus should really listen to him, don’t you think. Rufus still doesn’t have a clue of the threesome. He needs to work on his intelligence gathering.
> 
> Sephiroth … I am sorry that I am so mean to you.
> 
> Rude is so protective of Cissnei and yes, both Reno and Rude are pussy whipped so damn hard. But they don’t have a problem with it at all.
> 
> One more chapter, darlings. One more chapter, and then an epilogue to finish it all off. Aren’t you excited!


	59. Travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning**  
>  A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno. Yaoi.
> 
>  **Pre-Author’s Note**  
>  Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…  
> Going to visit home is not as pleasant as it would sound for some people.  
>  **Disclaimer**  
>  Don’t own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.

Zack noticed that Cloud was glum since they announced that they were going to Nibelheim. Zack sat on the tailgate and looked at Cloud who appeared to be almost pouting as he stood staring at Midgar. Zack had been trying to talk to him for the last half-hour, but he was in his own little world at the moment.

He hadn’t gotten a proper answer when he was trying to get him to pay attention to him, so it was time for a change in tactics.

“What’s eating you, Cloudy?”

That got the blond’s attention as he turned quickly. “Don’t call me that!”

“Got your attention finally,” Zack said. “What’s on your mind?”

Cloud mumbled something and fitted his helmet on his head. “Nothing,” he grumbled, as he looked at his feet and slumped his shoulders.

“Aren’t you happy about showing off at home?” Zack asked as he bounded off the tail gate and patted his shoulders enthusiastically. “I would love a mission back home. I haven’t seen my parents in ages.”

Cloud shook him off and started to examine his gun, then mumbled something.

 _~that is a bad habit he’s picking up from Reno~_

“Then I will get to meet your mom,” Zack said in a lower tone of voice.

Cloud quickly reacted, his blue eyes growing wide and he shook his head. “You can’t meet my mom!”

Zack’s eyebrows shot up at the quick, sharp tone in his voice. He eyed Cloud, whose face was suddenly crimson at how loud he had spoken. “I mean … uh,” Cloud stammered and looked at his feet, and mumbled again.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to meet my mom,” Cloud said and began to run his hands nervously up and down his gun and twist where he was standing. “It’s just that … you know.”

“No, I don’t know.” Zack stood firmly beside him with his hands on his hips.

Cloud sighed. “I haven’t called my mom or written once since I got here.”

“Not once?”

 _~you can’t judge him. When was the last time you called your mom?~_

Cloud shook his head. “And mom is kinda the traditional sort.” Zack observed his cheeks gaining colour again and his eyes dart to look away from him.

“How traditional?”

“Well, she doesn’t expect me to have a boyfriend. I bet the first thing out of her mouth is to ask if I met a nice girl.” Cloud sighed heavily and leaned against the truck. “There is no such thing as ‘gay’ in Nibelhiem. You know, small towns.”

Zack nodded. He understood that as well. It wasn’t something that he had even thought of when he was living in Gongaga. He still liked to look at girls. He liked their soft curves; he figured he was bi that way.

 _~ not that I would think of being with a girl after being with Reno and Cloud~_

“Did I tell you one of the reasons my parents let me leave to join SOLDIER when I was so young?”

Cloud shook his head and pulled his gun into his lap.

“I had a slight pregnancy scare.”

Cloud raised his eyebrows and gave him a shocked look. “Oh?”

“Well,” Zack moved to sit beside Cloud again. “She was cute and she wanted to give me a going-away present,” Zack started.

Cloud scoffed. “So, she offered you sex as a going-away present?”

Zack patted his shoulder. “I was a horny sixteen-year-old boy and she was a very busty seventeen-year-old girl. She had some nice curves on her and she did this thing with her hips ...” He stopped there as Cloud narrowed his eyes at him. “Well, I was only supposed to be going to the next town over for a month, and when I came back, I had a very angry father threatening me and wanting to make his daughter an honest woman,” Zack said and rubbed the back of his head. “Freaked me right out.”

“And she wasn’t pregnant?” Cloud asked.

“Well, she was, but it wasn’t mine,” Zack said and leaned back against the truck. “She was already with the kid before I came along but she was pin-pointing me since the guy that did knock her up left as soon as he found out.” Zack could see the amused look on Cloud’s face. “Don’t knock it. I came from a pretty good family and she saw that I had older sisters who could help her with the kid.”

“And then your dad encouraged you to leave town?” Cloud said with a crooked smile.

“My mom, actually,” Zack said as he remembered that day. “She said, ‘There is no way I can handle any more versions of you around here, so you better get on with that dream of yours to be a SOLDIER before I change my mind.’”

Cloud laughed at that. It was a nice laugh, but Zack was annoyed at the reason why he was laughing.

“She was afraid of you reproducing a little hell spawn?” Cloud said once he regained his composure somewhat and wiped tears from his eyes. “That’s rich.”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly ready to be a dad. I can’t imagine having any kids that were like me. I could hear my dad saying on a regular basis that I was going to be the death of him,” Zack said and rubbed the back of his head.

 _~I was such a troublemaker~_

“When was the last time you were home?” Cloud asked.

“Two years ago. Went home for the holidays and a short visit after I was recovering from a mission that went very bad,” Zack sighed as he remembered that. “Needed a bit of a breather from Shin-Ra and they sent me home.”

“Did it help?”

Zack nodded. “There was still a lot that I didn’t tell my parents,” Zack said, sighing. “I didn’t tell them I had interest in men back then either.” Zack was aware of how the conversation had turned away from Cloud.

 _~he’s good at that~_

“It’s not like I’m going to say ‘hi’ to your mom and then stick my tongue down your throat, Cloud,” Zack said as he leaned into the younger man. “It’s not a thing you normally bring up in conversation with your parents.”

“I know she is going to be disappointed in me,” Cloud said as the frown returned to his face. “I left to become a First Class SOLDIER and I’m still a grunt.” Cloud tugged at his uniform. “And I … kinda said a few things to some other people in town before I left.” His voice got low and his eyes even seem to dull as he spoke.

 _~the same old story, I bet~_

“Was it a girl?” Zack asked.

Cloud nodded. “It was so stupid,” he whispered. “I was a moron thinking that she would even care about a little hick like me.”

Zack noted that Cloud was gripping the gun tight as he spoke and his jaw was clenched just as tightly. “I hate that town, Zack. I hate it so much and I couldn’t wait to get out of there and prove to them that I wasn’t just a screwed up kid. I told everyone that I was going to be a SOLDIER and I was going to prove them all wrong. I was going to prove to them that I wasn’t worthless, and I haven’t done that.”

“You are not worthless,” Zack said with a stern voice. He didn’t care how it looked at the moment. He wasn’t going to have Cloud talk down on himself like that. He stood in front of the blond and took his face in his hands and forced his eyes to meet his.

“I want you to stop thinking like that,” Zack said, still holding his face firmly in his hands. “Don’t worry about what those people in the town think of you, Cloud. You will make it to SOLDIER. When you go back to this town, you will be able to tell everyone that you are in SOLDIER and fighting alongside of Zack Fair and Sephiroth, so they can take it up the ass for all you care.”

Cloud raised his eyebrows and gave him a shocked look.

“You’re SOLDIER material, Cloud. You’re a natural leader and healer, and don’t let some small-town bullies tell you otherwise.”

“But …”

“I will have none of that!” Zack said and moved to gripping his shoulders again and gave him a little shake. “We all did stupid things as kids. Look at what you have become since you joined Shin-Ra. Look at that and tell your mom. You will be a SOLDIER by the end of next month once we get back. You will pass the exams in no time. Don’t let them knock you back down to being a kid again. Be the man that I fell in love with.”

 _~did … did I just say that?~_

Cloud’s eyes grew wide and Zack couldn’t tell if he was shocked, stunned or aghast. He was a little shocked that he blurted it out like that and in such a public place. He felt his breath quicken.

 _~there are better places where I could have said it~_

He let go of Cloud’s shoulders and took a step back. He rubbed the back of his neck again and looked at his shuffling feet. “I mean, well, you know,” Zack said and swallowed hard.

“Did you just say that?” Cloud whispered as he moved to stand directly in front of him, so that their toes were touching.

Zack looked sheepishly through his bangs down at Cloud.

 _~Is he going to be upset with me?~_

He met his blue eyes and saw that they were bright again, and there was a wide smile on his lips. “You know, I was thinking that you would say it when you had sappy moments, but this was better.”

 _~I want to kiss him now~_

But he refrained and smiled. Their relationship was hardly secret anymore, but they were still normally discrete about it, as the threesome aspect of what was their normalcy was not common knowledge and they wanted to keep it that way.

He was well aware of the odd looks he would get when he was just with Reno and Cloud. He heard the rumours but he did not let them bother him because none of them knew what was really going on, and the rumours were only that. Most people ignored the rumours and kept their noses out of it.

 _~except Joseph~_

“Of course I mean it,” Zack said.

Cloud pushed himself up on his toes and their lips pressed together. Cloud was never one to show much affection in public so the kiss meant more than anything that they had ever done in private. It was the best kiss he ever had and it solidified that moment firmly in his heart. “I know you do,” Cloud said as he rocked back on his heels, “I do too.”

Zack smirked and reached forward …

 _~I want more than just that little kiss~_

… but he was stopped by someone clearing his throat.

He looked over to see Kunsel standing with a box in his hands. “If you two are finished, there is some work that needs to be done.”

Cloud backed off completely and bumped against the truck before blushing furiously and looking down at his feet. “Sorry, sir. Will get back to work, sir.” Cloud started to scramble away.

Zack glared at Kunsel as the snoopy SOLDIER sauntered forward a few more steps. “We were just talking.”

Kunsel smirked. “Yeah, I saw that. You were having a wonderful conversation with your lips smooshed together like that.”

“Screw you,” Zack said and took the small box from him. “They weren’t smooshed together.”

“They were going to be the way you were looking at him,” Kunsel said with a grin. “And the way he was looking at you.”

Zack twisted a little uncomfortably at his friend’s intense look.

 _~would have made out with him right in the back of that truck~_

Kunsel laughed at him and hit his arm. “You two are truly pathetic, you know that?”

“I was just trying to cheer him up. He was being down on himself again,” Zack said as he placed the box in the back of the truck.

Kunsel snorted. “It looks like you would have gone down on him if I didn’t interrupt.”

Zack staggered a bit and gasped at his friend. He nearly stumbled over his own feet at the comment. He tried to make words come out of his mouth to yell at Kunsel, but was unable to do so.

“Come on. Let’s go make sure the driver understands how to get there,” Kunsel said. “I’ll talk for you if Cloud still has your tongue.”

Zack narrowed his eyes and lunged at his friend, putting him in a headlock. Kunsel was laughing as he was forced to bend over and struggle under his hold. “You’re such a jerk!”

“You still love me!” Kunsel yelled as he was dragged along by Zack to where the driver was looking at the maps. “Ow, Zack!”

Zack didn’t let him go. “You should apologize for saying stuff like that.”

“But it was true,” Kunsel said and continued to laugh as Zack gripped him tighter. “Ow, Zack!”

Zack finally released him and shoved him to the side. “So, what are we doing here again?” He looked over at the young infantryman who was holding a map limply in his hands.

“I was making fun of you, but we were supposed to be working,” Kunsel said and moved out of hitting distance as Zack swung at him. Kunsel still had a very large smile on his face.

 _~glad he was amused~_

“Fine, fine. Let’s talk about dragons,” Kunsel said as he pulled the map out of the young man’s hands and started to talk about the route that they had to travel to get to Nibelhiem and the hazards that they should expect along the way.

* * *

Reno was pouting and he didn’t care that he was showing it. They both were going to be gone and he hated that. And it was worse that his SOLDIERs were both going together. He slouched as he walked down to the garage to wish them well on the trip.

He had his hands stuffed deep in his pockets and he saw Zack beating up on Kunsel and them both laughing about it.

“Yo,” he called as he walked over. Kunsel’s smile grew bigger as he approached and Zack scowled back at the other.

“Do you two needs some alone time too?” Kunsel said.

Reno frowned at the SOLDIER. He never liked the guy. He was always wearing that stupid helmet and seemed to know stuff that a SOLDIER shouldn’t know.

Zack rolled his eyes and pushed Kunsel away from him, then walked over to Reno, easily throwing his arms around his shoulders and moving him in a direction that was away from the nosy SOLDIER.

“What’s up with this mission?” Reno asked. He wanted to know how long his SOLDIERs were going to be gone. He may have to actually buy groceries for his own place. He liked buying stuff that they would cook for him instead of ordering out.

 _~I still suck at cooking~_

“Oh, it’s only a small mission,” Zack said as they walked behind the cargo truck, away from the prying eyes. “It’ll only take a couple of days. We are just supposed to check out the reactor, and it should take us no time at all.”

Reno felt Zack’s hand go under his chin and force him to look up at him. He looked into the SOLDIER’s friendly face that had a large, silly grin on it. “We will be back in no time,” he repeated and then added, “You know, you can stay at my place if you want.”

 _~but it feels so empty when they aren’t there~_

“I appreciate it,” Reno said and rubbed his chin against Zack’s fingers, “but you know I can’t, yo.”

“We don’t need a pilot and I was under the impression that Tseng won’t let you drive transport vehicles anymore,” Zack said lightheartedly. It always made him feel better when Zack would joke around.

 _~even when he is going away~_

“Don’t bring that up, yo,” Reno defended. “It was one time and I’m not forbidden to drive. Just … Rude has to be there.”

So he drove one truck off the road because he was distracted. Just because it had Scarlet in the back …

 _~damn harpy was laughing too much~_

… and she got injured because of it. It wasn’t his fault that she didn’t wear her safety belt and thought that high heels were appropriate field attire.

He was surprised when Zack leaned forward and gave him a kiss. His eyes grew wide as they pulled apart and he looked around to see if anyone saw. The only one that was within his line of sight was Kunsel, who looked like he was frowning at them, but it was hard to tell with that damn helmet hiding most of his face.

“Don’t worry. Don’t piss off Tseng and we will be back in time to see that new movie that you want to go see,” Zack said and pulled back, patting his shoulder gently.

Reno smiled brightly and reached up to touch the hand that rested on his shoulder. Zack always cheered him up. “Is it pathetic that I’m gonna miss ya guys, even if it’s only for a couple days?”

“Don’t worry. Sephiroth will be there so the job won’t take any time at all,” Zack said.

“Zack!”

Zack waved off Kunsel and leaned into him, and his breathtaking smile took over. “I’ll get to meet Cloud’s mom.”

Reno rolled his eyes. “Don’t embarrass him, yo,” Reno warned. “You’ll end up in the dog house again if ya do.”

“I already promised that I would behave,” Zack said. “He has a lot to tell his mom and I’ll let him do it at his own pace.”

Reno shook his head. “He’s scared what his mom will say if she finds out he’s gay, right?” It was a typical story. He had the same issue when he was dealing with Legend. Of course, the man was still trying to get him to get a girlfriend no matter how many times he told him he was gay and that he had no interest in women whatsoever.

“That and a few other things,” Zack said.

“Zack, quit it already. We got stuff to do!” Kunsel yelled.

Zack shook his head and grunted as the SOLDIER almost looked frustrated at the continued interruptions. “I’ll call you once we get there and fill you in on Cloudy’s hometown and take a few pictures to send your way,” Zack said quickly as he started to walk away towards Kunsel.

 _~almost tempting to take a few more pictures of his ass~_

He shook off the thought and started to the other side of the garage. He spotted Cloud’s tell-tale yellow hair but unfortunately he was beside someone with blue hair. Cloud was busy arranging some gunny bags and Joseph was holding the checklist. He didn’t want to deal with the loudmouth, blue-haired twinky. But Jospeh had his blue hair slicked back and in a tight ponytail, so hopefully he wouldn’t be a complete dumbass.

Cloud smiled at him as he saw him coming.

“Yo,” he said as he walked up to him. He glared at Joseph. He wanted to tell the man to get lost.

“Reno,” Cloud said, turning to look at him again with that pleasant smile. “Aren’t you supposed to be working right now?”

“Needed a break,” he said simply. He didn’t want to say that the screaming of the bastard they were interrogating was getting on his already tense nerves with all the shit going on. He was going to be alone for a couple days and was going to have to continue dealing with Tseng pushing them all with ridiculous hours. He changed the topic.

~don’t need him asking what I was taking a break from~

“Heard ya goin’ back home for this mission,” Reno said and leaned against the wall. He almost reached into his pocket to pull out smokes. He had been trying to quit again but he still had a pack in his pocket. He didn’t smoke around his SOLDIERs because they would give him hell.

“I wish I was going on this mission,” Joseph mumbled. “I get to go to Icicle tomorrow. I hate the damn cold.”

“I wish I were going to Icicle,” Cloud grumbled himself. Zack was right. There were obviously a few issues Cloud had about going home.

“Wanna switch?” Joseph asked and looked hopeful.

Cloud rolled his eyes. “I think they would notice. Plus, Dean is going to Icicle.” He looked over at Reno. “We will be going in an hour.”

He nodded and looked over at Joseph. “Don’t you have somewhere else to go?”

Joseph stood there for a moment looking a bit confused. “What? Oh, oh!” He put the clipboard down on the gunny sack, gave an annoying wink of the eye and a click of the tongue. “Gottcha. So, will ten minutes do ya guys?”

“Just get lost,” Reno snarled at Joseph who turned on his heel and jogged over behind some other vehicles.

He turned to Cloud and saw that he had a grim look on his face again. Reno hated seeing him so glum and sad. He liked the look on his face when he smiled. It changed everything about him and Reno couldn’t love him more when he smiled.

“It won’t be that bad goin’ home, will it?” Reno asked as he moved to stand beside Cloud. He rested a hand on his lower back and looked at him.

“Probably not,” Cloud sighed. “I just … wanted to be more before I went back.”

 _~Cloud’s gotta quit being so down on himself~_

“You are,” Reno whispered and leaned close to him. “And don’t you forget that, yo.”

Cloud turned to him with his eyes and lips narrowed at him. “You’ve already talked to Zack.”

Reno shook his head. “Only a little, but enough to get the gist that your bein’ down on yourself again, yo.” He wanted to do more than just touch his back. He knew all too well that there were cameras about and was sure that the kiss that he shared with Zack earlier would be already on someone’s …

 _~Rufus~_

… screen, and it would be brought to their attention. He hadn’t had any dealing with him in private since he threatened him, and he really wanted to keep it that way.

“I wanted to go home a hero,” Cloud said and his shoulders slumped.

Reno rolled his eyes. “Geez, don’t set your goals too high or anythin’.” He slapped Cloud’s shoulder hard. “When it comes down to it, it comes down to those that care about ya, yo. So that is me and Zack, and so ya can quit lettin’ a bunch of yokels tell ya how to live yer life, yo.”

Cloud laughed and the smile returned to his lips.

 _~that’s better~_

“I’m sure that everything will be okay,” Cloud said. “I got Zack with me, after all.”

Reno smiled back. He was glad that it didn’t take long for Cloud to get out of his low slumps since they had been together. A couple words …

 _~and sometimes some kisses~_

… and Cloud would be a happier man. Reno was a happier man as well. He didn’t remember being so content in a relationship before. Tseng had even begrudgingly commented to him about how calm he had been lately, as well as Rude and Cissnei.

Even though he would still get a baffled look from Cissnei from time to time.

 _~love threatenin’ to tell her details~_

“Darn right it will,” Reno said and felt compelled to kiss him. Despite his knowledge that it could get back to Rufus, he still wanted a goodbye kiss. Zack had already kissed him, so what was one more log for the fire.

He leaned in, reaching up to cup his face, when a loud voice boomed in the garage. “Are we ready?” It made his heart skip a beat and back away from Cloud. Cloud’s eyes grew wide and he started to go through the gunny sack and checklist and resumed packing.

“I thought we had another hour,” Cloud said.

Reno could hear Zack’s voice, but not what he was saying.

 _~I’m not gonna get my kiss~_

“That’s what the deployment sheet said,” Reno grumbled. He was getting grumpy again with the thought of them leaving.

Joseph ended up running back with another gunny sack in his hand. “Sephiroth is aching to go. We got to hurry.”

Cloud nodded and then looked back at him. “Sorry, Reno. I got to get back to work.”

“No problem. Tseng’s probably wonderin’ where I am anyway, yo,” Reno mumbled. His phone was set to vibrate and it had started to shake as soon as he entered the garage. He always claimed bad reception in the garage, so it wouldn’t be strange to those calling him.

 _~no matter how many phones I get … one day they’ll catch on~_

“You phone me when ya get there, and take pictures,” Reno said as he started to walk away from Cloud. “And give my wishes to your ma,” he added for good measure.

Joseph snickered.

Cloud pushed Joseph and told him to shut up.

Reno kept walking away. He slouched again and stuck his hands deep in his pockets. He was going to go have that smoke now. He looked over and gave a small wave to Zack who was standing by Sephiroth.

They looked like they were going over the map together. Zack gave him a small wave and it drew Sephiroth’s attention away from the map. His green eyes focused on in for a moment before they darted quickly down to the map again, and he could hear the deep tones of the General’s voice telling Zack to pay attention.

Zack focused again on the map that they were examining, and Reno watched the rest of the supplies get loaded into the truck. He walked out of the garage and into the gloom of the day. It had been raining outside earlier and the clouds hadn’t dissipated yet. He leaned against the wall and pulled out a cigarette.

He could hear all the movement inside as they readied to depart. His phone began to vibrate in his pocket again, but he wasn’t ready to answer it yet.

He lit the smoked and waited. He waited until he heard the rumble of the truck inside the garage and the rattle of the doors as they opened. He had already finished his third cigarette by the time he saw the truck edge its way out.

The flaps were open in the back of the truck and he could see Zack, Cloud, Sephiroth and another trooper in the back. Zack saw him and waved at him. Cloud noticed a few seconds later and did so as well.

He waved back with the hand that was holding his cigarette.

He saw Zack’s face twist a bit and then hung out the door of the truck. “You better quit that nasty habit by the time we get back!” Zack yelled.

He laughed as he watched Cloud pull on Zack’s armour and make him sit down. He could hear their laughter and almost feel the frown coming from Sephiroth as they goofed around.

 _~gonna fuckin’ miss them~_

He couldn’t help but smile at the antics. He took the last drag of the cigarette before he crushed it under his foot.

He watched the truck approach the gate and transfer some paperwork before they opened.

And then they were gone.

 _~should have stolen that kiss~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END…
> 
> … like really.
> 
> … okay, an epilogue is due, but this is the end of Tease. Kinda sad ending, isn’t it? Don’t hate me because … well, you are allowed to hate me, but did you like the story? Did you expect a happy ending? I am sorry if you did, but this is the plot that I had laid out, as mean as it is. It is all Squares fault that the story is heading in this direction.
> 
> Want to see a lovely lovely lovely picture of Zack, Reno and Cloud… a very confused Zack and an adorable Cloud and Reno.
> 
> A lovely gift from by dear Beta for finishing the story.
> 
> http://sakonma.deviantart.com/art/Commission-ZackxRenoxCloud-208041909
> 
> I have received a lot of art work in my time with this fandom and I totally love every single one of them, as they made me smile, cheered me up, made me laugh and squee with glee. This is the first picture that made me cry like a little baby for a good hour or so. It was a lovely mothers day present and you must all go down and comment and fave it (if you have a DA account that is.) It is the best thing ever.
> 
> I know that it is partially because it is from Ziggy and she was a sneaky little sneak in getting it for me. It is also partially because this is the ultimate climax (hurr durr, climax) of my story and part of it is that it is epic. I am sure there are more reasons, but the biggest one is that it made me cry. I don’t cry that easily and I was a sobbing mess all Mothers day.


	60. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Disclaimer** Don’t own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.
> 
> This is the last of it… for now.

Sephiroth let the book drop from his fingers and fall to the floor. It stirred the dust that he had been walking through as he read.

Genesis was right.

He was a monster.

He wasn’t a man. He reached for another book off the shelf and started to read what was there. Scribbles from the doctors that had taken care of him … no, none of them had taken ‘care of him’ — they had observed and monitored him.

Seeing Genesis … crumbling had dominated his mind. The words he whispered with such venom and hate. He couldn’t help but respond to him in kind. He saw the hurt in his faded blue eyes, during that brief moment, he didn’t care.

He had hurt him too.

Genesis had left him to be alone, so he could go ahead and rot.

The words blurred on the page and he had to blink back the tears that formed in his eyes, and he shook away the weak emotions.

“Sir.”

He turned around and his breathing stopped at the sound of the soft voice that was so familiar and dear.

 _~Genesis~_

He was standing beside the desk with a small bag and a bottle of juice in his hands. He stood looking at him with bright — not faded — eyes that shone at him. Genesis stood still and looked like he was confused and not his normal, confident self.

Sephiroth closed the book that he held in his hand and held it to his chest. He couldn’t help but examine him and think this was a dream. He did not look ill like he did at the reactor. He looked healthy and well with bright red hair, with his head cocked to the side. His jacket didn’t look worn out or in the need of repair; he looked like he did the day he turned his back to him.

 _~I miss him so much~_

“I brought you something to drink and a sandwich,” Genesis said and held up a bottle and a small bag.

He used to do that all the time back at Shin-Ra. He would show up in his office with some sweet treat and horridly bland coffee, but he would happily sip it and ignore the poetic words that seldom meant anything to him.

 _~which is where I went wrong~_

“Are you all right, sir?” Genesis said and put the bottle and bag down on the only spare spot that was on the desk.

Sephiroth frowned and looked away from the man. There were things that weren’t right about him. He seemed shorter and he never called him ‘sir’. Sephiroth’s head pounded as he tried to connect things. His head and chest hurt from what he discovered from going into the reactor, and from the information he had been stuffing in his head since he locked himself in the basement.

He knew that he should rest and this was a sign of fatigue that he was encountering, but he couldn’t stop reading and he couldn’t stop with Genesis appearing in front of him.

“Sir?”

He gasped as a hand touched his arm and he balked away from the touch, bumping into the bookshelf behind him and dropping the book that was in his hand.

Blue eyes that were larger than he ever remembered were looking at him with concern.

 _~Genesis was never concerned about me~_

“I am not a monster,” Sephiroth hissed and reached out, his hands going around the man’s throat. He had called him a monster and he may be right, but Genesis was no less of one than he.

He heard the drink go crashing to the floor as he bumped the desk, it was most certainly bland coffee anyway, spilling onto the dust and papers that scattered the floor. He focused on that for a moment despite the struggling man that was at the end of his arms. He could feel hands grabbing at his arms and the sounds of Genesis gasping for air.

Sephiroth was starting to feel satisfaction in hurting a man that had hurt him.

 _~he’s supposed to be rotting~_

He looked over to view the beauty of Genesis struggling against his grip. He had always loved how the man looked when he was demanding something, when he wanted more touching, more attention, more of anything. The thought of Genesis being under his hand and unable to breathe was satisfying, and he raised his eyes to see the struggling man that was clawing at the arms of his leather jacket.

He looked on with a smug smile at the man, but was startled at the face that peered back at him.

He let go of what he was holding and took a step back as he reassessed what was happening.

It was not Genesis that had brought him a drink and something to eat. It was not Genesis with a bruise already forming on his throat and taking in large gasps of air. It was not Genesis’ cheeks that were coloured a bright red while the rest of his skin looked pasty white. It was not Genesis that was backing away with a shaking hand resting against his chest. It was not Genesis, but Zack’s young boy-toy.

Cloud gasped loudly as he struggled to remain on his own two feet and gather breaths in large gulps.

Cloud’s blue eyes were nothing like Genesis’; they were not jaded or cold, but innocent and afraid.

 _~how could I even think he was anything like Genesis?~_

He didn’t say anything as he watched the young man walk backwards for a few staggered steps before he ran out of the room. Heavy and clumsy footsteps were heard leaving the basement and running away from him.

 _~I scared him~_

He chuckled at that thought.

It hurt to laugh. The pain in his chest that seemed to be growing as the days grew longer was being aggravated by the laughter that wanted to burst forward. The heaviness that had settled in his chest became a burning pain. He continued to chuckle as he picked up the book from the floor.

 _~monsters don’t deserve anything but pain~_

He opened the book and found the spot where he had left off before he was interrupted in his search for understanding.

* * *

Zack was nearly asleep when he heard the scramble of frantic footsteps enter the room. He hurriedly sat up in the bed and saw Cloud enter the room, gasping and sobbing as he ran over to him. He was startled as Cloud threw himself into his arms without worrying about the other man that was in the room.

“Cloud?” he whispered. He didn’t want to wake the other trooper in the room, but from the increased intensity of his sobs, he didn’t think that was possible.

His first thought was that someone in the town found out who he was, but he highly doubted Cloud would have let it get to him this badly. He may not have been a well-liked kid, but Cloud wasn’t weak like that anymore. A couple childhood bullies wouldn’t get the best of him.

He let Cloud sob into his chest. He held him tightly against him and ran his hands over his back and neck, hoping to soothe the tears and shaking. But curiosity got the better of him, and so he forced Cloud to lift himself off his chest, and he looked into Cloud’s tear-stained face.

“What happene…” Zack’s eyes narrowed as he saw the bruise on Cloud’s neck that looked very distinctly like it was made by large fingers. He ran his hand over the bruise and got a hiss from Cloud.

“What happened?” he asked as he examined the bruise that was already a deep purple.

“He called me Genesis,” Cloud said with a raspy breath.

“Sephiroth,” Zack whispered and felt his chest tighten at the thought. He had been the one to send Cloud down there to make sure that Sephiroth had something to drink and eat. He didn’t think that Sephiroth would hurt him, or least of all confuse him with Genesis.

He knew meeting him at the reactor was hard on him. He could see how it caused Sephiroth a lot of pain seeing the broken Genesis talking about a lot of stuff that didn’t make much sense, but it seemed to make sense to Sephiroth.

 _~But there was no excuse for hurting Cloud~_

“I’ll deal with him,” Zack said and knew that his voice sounded hard. Sephiroth had no right to do this. He thought that he was coming around and then he pulled this shit, he was not going to tolerate him losing it and beating up his boyfriend.

“No!” Cloud yelled and grabbed him. He buried his face into Zack’s chest and Zack couldn’t help but hold him close to him again. He wanted nothing more than to protect him from this whole thing. This mission was quickly turning into a painful reminder of Cloud’s past and it hurt Zack to see him like this. “I don’t want you to go down there.”

Zack frowned and rubbed Cloud’s back as he started to sob again. His throat must have been hurting because the sobs sounded like it was painful.

“I can’t let him think that it is okay to hurt you,” Zack said as he felt anger rise. Sephiroth had no right to lay his hand on anyone. They already had to leave one man down at the bottom of a valley and he wasn’t going to lose anyone else.

 _~especially Cloud~_

“He thought I was Genesis,” Cloud whispered and wiped the tears off his face with the back of one of his hands. Cloud looked like he was trying his best to gain his composure back. “I don’t want to go down there.” Cloud’s hands were on his shirt and it was like he had a death grip on him. Zack could read between the lines, though.

 _~he doesn’t want me to leave him~_

Zack drew him close to his chest again and allowed Cloud to calm down. He would deal with Sephiroth as soon as Cloud was calm enough. He would beat some sense into the bastard if that is what it took.

* * *

Reno was going to kill who was knocking at his door. He just got back from a hell of a mission, was sore and tired and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. He hated that Zack and Cloud were both on the same mission without him, and he was not used to sleeping in a bed without one of the two SOLDIERs.

The pounding continued.

“I’m comin’, ya asshat!” he yelled as he stormed in his bare feet. Stomping didn’t work quite as efficiently when he had bare feet and carpet, but at least it made him feel better to stomp to the door.

He opened it and was ready to yell at the inconsiderate bastard, but stopped when he saw Tseng standing at his door with a large bottle of what looked to be like rye.

“Can I come in?”

“Of course, Bossman. What’s up?” He was a little startled by the ruffled appearance of Tseng. He wasn’t wearing a tie and his hair was loose, not slicked back like normal. It also smelled as though Tseng already had a few drinks out of the bottle before he arrived at his door.

 _~something is seriously wrong~_

“Let’s have a drink first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * * *
> 
> Er, I never promised that the ending was going to be happy.
> 
> Well, that is it for this story. Sixty fricken chapters later and I hope you enjoyed it despite the horribly sad ending. Thank you all for reading, reviewing and just putting up with the long, long story.
> 
> I will continue to write and may even go with shorter sequels for this if I feel so compelled but as you all know, I have so many plot bunnies in my head it may have to wait awhile.
> 
> Love you all, I hope you still love me.
> 
> Laters. Hope you still enjoyed the story and will continue to enjoy my other writing.
> 
> Soyna – Albedoreqium – Soy-Soy


	61. Epilogue 2: Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Turks talk about their regrets.

They were all waiting for the world to end. Meteor hung in the sky; a glowing mass that was meant to end them all.

The Turks were now waiting for their doom like the rest of the world. They all waited in the small villa that they acquired near the town that had been Mideel to be close to doctors. Rufus was still gravely hurt and they were not sure if he was going to recover from being in a building that had crumbled around him. The doctors said that he was lucky to be alive, but he needed constant medical care and observation.

Tseng was up and about now, which they were all grateful for after thinking he was not going to make it. He was more timid with his movements and he walked with a slow grace around the small building. It was odd seeing the head of the Turks wearing a simple T-shirt and wearing a pair of dress pants that seemed a little too large, but no one dared say a thing.

After all, not many people survived having a sword nearly skewering their heart.

“Do you think it’ll be quick?” Elena asked.

They were in the living room of the villa and looking out into the meteor-bright sky. There had not been a dark night for the past week due to the light from their impeding destruction. Rude didn’t say anything but his actions spoke volumes. He pulled Cissnei closer to his side and held her there. Cissnei did not object to the overprotective Turk. Tseng, who was reclined in a chair, let out a small sigh, as though he were too tired to answer the question, and most likely was. It was not the first time that Elena had asked. Reno stood in the doorway with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth and just stared at the sky.

It was Cissnei who answered, “I’m sure it will be.”

Elena took a drink of the tea that was in front of her. “I should try calling Gun.” Her voice was low and tinged with regret. She had her phone in her other hand and flipped it open and closed. “The last time we talked we yelled at each other.”

Tseng turned his head to Elena and put a hand on his chest. It was common to see him do that, as though the simple movement tugged at the still healing wound in his chest. “Then you should call her.”

“I dunno,” Elena said, still flipping that phone opened and closed. “I should, though. This may be the last time, and maybe we will be able to talk.”

The room was silent except for the click of Elena’s phone opening and closing.

“Be grateful that you can still talk to your sister,” Tseng said and closed his eyes. “I do not have the options of such conversations.”

Eyes turned to Tseng. He never talked of his past or if he had ever had a family.

“I would like to talk to them again,” Tseng said.

“Why don’t you?” Elena asked as she stopped fiddling with her phone.

“They are all dead. I had the chance to talk to them before they died, and I didn’t take it.”

Cissnei adjusted herself beside Rude and rested her head against his chest. “That’s horrible. What stopped you?”

Tseng took a deep breath that he let out slowly before speaking again. “I couldn’t face her. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to leave if I had to face my sister.” He paused and closed his eyes. “I was scared that she would have convinced me to stay with the family, like a good boy that I was supposed to be. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to walk away. I would have been. I know that now, but I was full of doubt then and it still haunts me that I didn’t say goodbye to her.”

The room lapsed into silence again as their eyes turned to their doom that hung in the sky.

Cissnei spoke next. “I always did want to find out what happened to my parents.” She threaded her fingers in Rude’s. “Did they want me? Did they sell me? Did they die before they could tell anyone about me? I know I could find the files, but I always was a little scared of the answer. I wish had gotten over that fear and looked it up. Maybe even found them.”

Rude squeezed her hand for support and kissed her forehead. She looked up at Rude. “Is there anything you regret?”

Rude nodded. “Not killing the bastard that hurt my mom the first chance I got. I waited too long and he killed her first.” It was Cissnei’s turn to comfort him as she returned the squeeze of his hands.

“If I remember correctly,” Tseng wheezed and clutched at his chest, “The man was not recognizable.”

“Wouldn’t have been nothing but a smear if I wasn’t interrupted,” Rude said in return and turned his gaze back to the window.

The room was silent again for a moment. Elena’s gaze fell onto Reno and she asked the question, “Do you regret anything, Reno?”

Reno blew smoke out the door before he dropped the cigarette to the ground and snuffed it out with the toe of his shoe. He closed the door and looked at the people in the room. “Yeah, I got a regret,” Reno said in a tone that made everyone look up at him. Reno slouched and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I would have kissed him.”

Elena looked confused at the statement but the others knew to whom he was referring.

“Oh, Reno,” Cissnei said and moved away from Rude as though she were going to go comfort him, but she was stopped when Rude pulled her back down beside him and shook his head. Tseng looked away from Reno as he started to walk towards the room where Rufus was resting.

“I’ll go check on the brat,” Reno said as he shuffled along, hardly lifting his feet as he walked.

“Who would you have kissed?” Elena asked and quickly cowered at the glare that she received from the others in the room when she realized that it was not the appropriate question to be asked. Reno stopped cold and blinked his eyes a few times, as though he were trying to stop his watery eyes from letting loose a tear.

“Doesn’t matter,” Reno said and resumed walking, “He didn’t remember me anyway.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acmrg3PmUA0 starting at time 21:28 Reno walks in and it begins. Cloud didn’t remember him… he knew what a Turk was, but not Reno. Stomp his heart a little harder, Cloud. Reno notes his mako eyes though. … Poor Reno.


End file.
